Humans of Cranston is a recurring column showcasing the stories of Cranston residents’ community involvement, diversity and unique life perspectives.

Gabriela Moronta (she/her) is a student at the CCRI Running Start program who is actively involved in local community service work.

“I have been in many [community service projects]. One of them was I worked as a poll worker for the General Election that was back in the fall. Honestly, that was a great experience because you deal with different personalities like you would in a job in general, but this one, y’know, poll working involves mostly the elderly… I was the youngest, obviously, and to be honest, their personalities were a vibe. They had that bright energy that kept me going from like 6 a.m. all the way ‘til 9. So that was an experience right there …. I only know people like, maybe from school, but not anyone that’s above my age. But just getting to know some of their stories, because they do like to talk, it’s a pleasure …. To be honest, it’s weird, but to me, [community service] is like a coping skill. Seeing other people happy just because I’m there for a few hours just makes their day, it’s what enriches my life, really, just to see people smiling. Like, in particular I was volunteering in a food bank that’s in Providence and honestly, I never knew how bad homeless people’s conditions were, and just giving them food and seeing the smiles on their faces, it just brings me joy.

I actually do internships. I want to do something at Mystic Aquarium! I personally love animals. That would be a great thing, just to go all the way over there and just volunteer some hours to just help with the animals. I’ve always wanted to volunteer at a dog shelter because I just enjoy animals so much, and I have so many ideas, like, plans [for after graduation] … you know how I love the elderly, like, just going over there in one of those retirement homes! I always wanted to go and play some games with them, because I remember when I was little, my mom took me to one of them and I thought it was going to be boring, like we were just going to sit in chairs and do nothing, but it was actually fun …. They need people to talk to. And some of them haven’t seen their kids in a long time and, at the time, I know some of them were just having smiles on their faces because they pictured me as one of their grandchildren.

I am in the Running Start program at CCRI. Basically, it’s a senior taking college courses. At first, I thought that us seniors were going to be separated from the actual college students – NO. We’re actually in the classes with them. Even the professors don’t know our real age; they don’t know that we’re in high school and I’m like, thank you, because I don’t want them to treat me differently because I’m still in high school. But it’s a different experience, like, I’m able to manage my time and there are more resources there than there are in high school …. It’s all different ages, ranging from young, like myself, to people who already have kids! It just feels like, freedom-wise, I can be more myself, because they treat me as if I were an adult – I am an adult now, legally – but of course, I’m still in high school, but I have more rights over there, like, they don’t care if I wear a hoodie. I’m more comfortable that way, that’s just me. You have more freedom of speech than you have over there ‘cause in high school, it’s more of like, a little city where drama can occur much more easily than in college.

I’m a person that’s just active in general. I’m like my mother, I cannot just stay in one place, to be honest with you. Maybe she gave that to me, who knows. I’m just glad that this community in Rhode Island brings people together, it’s more eventful, especially like, I’m waiting for Pride Month, that’s my month …. I feel like as time goes on, people will be more willing to change, because of course, nobody can stay in one day and era, and people are just going to have to accept change, because change is going on from now to even tomorrow, so I feel like I’m more optimistic of that. Things are not gonna just stay in one place; things are gonna get better, hopefully not worse.”

This project has been made possible by a Rhode Island Foundation Community Grant and the efforts of the OneCranston Health Equity Zone of Comprehensive Community Action, Inc. in partnership with the Cranston Herald and Timothy McFate. The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Humans of Cranston participants do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the aforementioned parties. The presented stories are voluntarily provided, unpaid, and given verbatim except for correcting grammatical errors. Want to nominate a Cranston resident to be featured? Email JB at jfulbright@comcap.org.