Sonia Melendez 

Before telling you something about myself, I’d like to say how much I enjoy being the office manager at Ultimate Karate USA. To begin with I like the neighborhood. I was born in Spanish Harlem but spent most of my life living in the Lower East Side, the Eastern Parkway neighborhood in Brooklyn, as well as in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx. Being of Puerto Rican descent and being bilingual, I really enjoy the opportunity to work with our students and their families.

You have heard of ‘soccer moms’. Well, I’m a ‘martial arts mom’, having sent two teenage sons to study martial arts and watching them grow into adulthood as they both became advanced black belts. I’ve had a lot of experience with families of martial art students and one of the reasons I really like this job is that it gives me a chance to encourage other students as well their families – and it takes an entire family – in becoming proficient martial artists. 

During the past I worked a lot with youth. At different times I worked for Pathways For Youth’s. I served as Assistant Director in 2002 in their summer youth program and before that as an office manager at their program at PS 60. I also worked as an office manager for their YES program, as well as a Special Event Service Representative. 

I also work as a Job Developer and Student Recruiter for the Youth Empowerment Services Commission part of the New York Deputy Mayor’s office. Part of my responsibilities were to recruit students, (ages 14-21), in order to provide them with job opportunities. I conducted interviews so that the student was screened for the appropriate job placement. I also assisted in coordinating workshops for students on topics such as the world of work; expectations of employers: preparing resumes and how to conduct themselves during job placement. 

Ultimate Karate USA is part of Peace on the Street and one of the programs beginning developed by the center is a series of workshops to train our students in getting and keeping a job as well as financial literacy. I look forward to drawing on my previous experience to contribute to these programs. At the moment, along with being office manager, I’m in charge of the after school tutorial program that we offer to some of our martial arts students. 

One of the things in which our school is a little different than other schools is that we very much believe in community empowerment and involvement. Part of being a great martial artist is to be a contributor, a contributor to your family and to your community. We teach this as part of our martial arts program. We also teach students to take pride in themselves and in their heritage. We teach them to take serious their civic responsibilities such as being informed about neighbor issues as well as voting. I’ve always realized the importance of this but my experience working as the office supervisor for Senator Efrain Gonzalez’s District Office in the Bronx helped me to understand the importance of teaching real civic and social responsibility.