Jane Roberts

Jane Roberts was born on September 4th, 1945 in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Belle Harbor Queens. Jane is seventy-seven and has one daughter and two granddaughters. She grew up with her younger sister Joan, however, over the years they have grown apart. As Jane says, “We are no longer on speaking terms.” A crucial piece of advice Jane gives is that family relationships are most important because your family is always there for you.

Jane attended Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey, where she double-majored in Psychology and Elementary Education. After graduating from Fairleigh Dickinson University, she went on to graduate school at Hunter College in New York, where she further pursued her passion for elementary education. When talking to Jane about the experiences in life that influenced her most, she referenced the various jobs she had as a young adult. She remembers fondly working in retail at two clothing stores in Manhattan and Long Island. In addition, she worked in the New York City public school system for ten years as an educator. She taught third and fourth grade until she was thirty-one years old when she decided to stop working, to stay at home, and dedicate all of her time to her family.

When asked about Jane’s most important lesson in life, she said, “It is better to smile than to fight, it is not worth your time to worry about someone who does not make you feel good about yourself, and it is always better to discuss differences than to argue.” She told me during the interview that “If you are upset with a friend about something, you should try and talk it out, do not fight about something that can simply be resolved with a conversation.”

Jane continued to explain that over many years she has learned that it is important to “be nice to everyone, no matter what, because you never know when things come back around…and you cannot gain anything by not being nice.” Jane has learned that it is important to try and get along with everyone and maintain healthy relations because, as she likes to say, “life is short, and making the moments count is important.”