Humans of Brockport:

Free Spirited Soul Nearing her 24th birthday this December, Lu Goulet (top) has lived five whole years without her father. With their shared love for life and adventure, Lu still finds the joy in nature and life’s little moments without her father by her side. After her father’s passing, she now lives her life going on the adventurous they wish they could’ve done together before he passed.

“On the five-year anniversary my brother Alex and I visited my dad’s grave, went mini golfing and went out to dinner with our family. I somehow convinced them to give a vegan meal a try, and I know my father would have greatly appreciated us all getting along and passing our dishes around for each other to share. It doesn’t get easier; I just think about it less. I’d give it all for this not to be reality. We had so many dreams of traveling and camping all over the country. We started traveling to the parks he wanted to go to in New York as much as we could this summer. Alex and I are now saving to travel across the country next spring and camp in all the parks my dad wanted to go with us. Oh, how I could use his poetic words of wisdom now. I’ll have to settle for the mildly annoying voicemail I have saved, and the memories I’m holding onto for dear life. I miss him in every moment.”

The Peacekeeper In the past four years of Sara Giallanza’s (top) life, her grandmother whom she was exceptionally close with was diagnosed with the tragic disease known as Alzheimer’s. Sara greatly struggles with her grandmother losing her memory but, Sara is extraordinarily the glue that keeps her family together and at peace through this difficult time.

“My grandma was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in May of 2016, when I was just 14 years old. My grandma was my best friend and practically raised me as I was growing up. Both of my parents worked during the week, so she would watch me until I was 12 years old. We had a very deep connection as I was growing up. She just understood me when I felt like no one else did. She is the most loving and non-judgmental human I’ve ever met. She expressed love and kindness to everyone she met. If I was having a bad day she would already know by my facial expression and mannerisms. She would then always sit down with me and let me vent to her about what was going on. That woman loved me with everything in her. When she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, my family’s whole world fell apart. My grandpa, siblings and parents were so upset, frustrated and confused. They always wondered why her? Why would this happen to the most loving person we’ve ever met? I was devasted but I knew she would want me to be strong for my family. And that is exactly what I did. On the bad days I would do my best to calm everyone down, keep the peace and reassure them that everything was going to be okay. Even if I felt like I was falling apart on the inside. I still see her every week and even though she may not remember me, I still remember her and view her no differently than I did before.”

The Extraordinary Optomist The life of Jay Berberena (top) has lived has been immensely difficult but, through her strong will, positive attitude and optimistic spirit she has found pure joy and love in the last 20 years of her life. Jay has dedicated her life to her daughter, and as a single mother she prioritized maintaining a stable environment for her daughter to grow up in.

“When I was 14, I met my high school sweetheart; Mike and we dated for about four years. We eventually went our separate ways because I was going to college in California and he was staying in Rochester. There were no hard feelings it was just timing. While I was in college, I met Dave, and we fell in love and stated dating my freshman year. In my sophomore year I found out I was pregnant and about to have a little girl. Dave and I were jumping up and down when we found out because we were so excited. Dave was the most amazing father and raised our daughter Sophia until she was six years old. A couple days after her sixth birthday Dave was in a fatal car accident. I felt so alone, hopeless and devastated. I was a window at 20 years old. As I grieved with my daughter about the loss of her father, I felt like I couldn’t go on. But I knew in the back of my mind Dave would be so disappointed in me if I didn’t give our little girl my all. I started working full time and raised her on my own. When Sophia turned 19, we moved back to Rochester because she wanted to attend Cornell university. She got in; my baby got in! And I was so proud of her. She was worried about leaving me to live on campus because this would be the first time, we would be apart. But I thought I would be fine, and I have basically been single for the last 19 years so I didn’t think it would make a difference. But then all of a sudden, I was grocery shopping in Wegman’s and ran into Mike. My high school sweetheart Mike. Instantly we reconnected and it was like the last 20 something years hadn’t even gone by. We decided to hangout and go on a camping trip the following weekend. We fell madly in love again and he asked me to marry him 5 days later. We have now been married for 3 years. My life has been a roller coaster and I feel in love with multiple people. But I feel the so unbelievably blessed for everything that happened to me and I wouldn’t change a thing”.