I was born in Havana, Cuba on leap day in 1956. My Dad is a retired physician and my Mom was a homemaker. We were forced to flee Cuba in 1960 due to the new Socialist government that took power on the island. I was 4 years old. My grandparents had already moved to Puerto Rico so we began our immigration journey there. My parents wanted to move to the US so my Dad started immigration proceedings. He petitioned US legislators, and the 89th Congress of the United States passed Private Law 89-396, on November 2, 1966, granting him permanent residence as of June 5, 1961. This was granted, in large part, to the fact that Dad was a Medical Doctor, a STEM degree. My dad began rebuilding his Medical career, and the rest of us continued our legal process to become naturalized American citizens 2 years later. I was 12 years old when I became a citizen. We eventually settled in Tampa where I attended a private girls’ school from 7th through 12th grades. Continued my education at the University of South Florida where I earned a Bachelor in Engineering Technology/Computer Technology in 1978. In March of 1977, I married my longtime boyfriend. After his graduation with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, we moved to Jacksonville. I completed my last semester at the University of North Florida and had those credits sent back to USF for graduation. My first job was as a programmer at the Independent Life and Accident Insurance Company in downtown Jacksonville. During my time at Independent Life, my husband and I adopted 2 beautiful children, and moved to Orange Park. I stayed with Independent for 19 years until the owners of the company decided to sell it to a much larger corporation based in Nashville, Tennessee. Though I was offered a position with them, I chose to accept an offer at Blue Cross / Blue Shield of Florida where I stayed 19 years (seems to be my lucky number!). We moved to Fleming Island just before my Husband retired a little over 6 years ago. I retired on April 1, 2016. Since my retirement, I have stayed very busy volunteering, participating in hobbies and clubs, travelling around the US and the world, and spending time with friends and family. This coming year, 2020, is a leap year which means I will get a Real birthday! I will be turning 16 so may throw a sweet 16 party!