Anna Daily and Duo
Anna Daily became the 6th recipient of the Arturo Alfonso Schomburg Award. She along with the previous 5 recipients had one thing in common: service to the community. Community does not just mean the town you live in, but it can extend statewide and even nationwide. Ms. Daily was recognized by all three when she was a Science Teacher in the Perth Amboy School System.
Under her guidance, many of her students excelled, and were recognized nationally. Her thirst to learn more led her to achieve degrees in different areas of health technology. Her community service extended to her church, where she was active in teaching those of all age groups. When she was recognized as a Teacher of the Year not only in the County, and State, but nationwide in the role as a science teacher. One of those awards came with a stipend of $5,000. Daily decided to use part of that money for membership in a health club. She wanted to make sure she would always be in the best physical shape possible. She also said that her first contact with PRAHD was when she needed transportation to get to her medical appointments after having multiple surgeries. Ms. Daily and PRAHD had this in common: community service for all ages.
Anna Daily group
Throughout the program, some speakers related their experiences they had as her students. Daily was a hard teacher because she saw their potential to excel. As Ms. Daily said herself, if that had to include a phone call to a parent to help a student over a hurdle, so be it. This is when a person will go above and beyond what their duties are, and that’s when you know they truly care.
Even some of the speakers who didn’t know about Anna Daily mentioned how impressed they were when they read her biography.
Ms. Daily is what we call a Hometown Girl, even though she was not born here. She mentioned that her husband is the one who brought her to Perth Amboy, New Jersey. She fell in love with the community and they with her. The community became her family. Upon retiring, she did not want to leave Perth Amboy. Daily will not rest until one of her final missions is accomplished, which is having Thomas Mundy Peterson (The first African-American Voter after the passing of the 15th Amendment) recognized nationally. But first she needs to have a statue of him erected in the City of Perth Amboy.
I believe that because of her determination and faith in God that she has demonstrated, this too will come to fruition. C.M.
Anna Daily
