“I am culturally African American from the South, and my husband is culturally Nigerian. When we got married in 2018, my husband was here on the East Coast, and I was in Colorado. It wasn’t exactly the smoothest transition when I came here.
We found that being here in Upper Valley was very isolating. We realized very quickly that we didn’t see a lot of people who looked like us. When we went to stores, we couldn’t find things we were looking for. We knew nothing about this little town. Because I am a social worker, one of the things that was difficult for me was that I didn’t know where the resources were in the community. We were going to have a baby here, but I didn’t know where anything was!
It led us on our own personal journey. We started with normal things, like who is a good dentist? And, oh, there is a women’s clinic here – I wonder what they do. I also had to figure out who was a good baby doctor and where we could get prenatal care. The fact-finding mission I started for myself has turned into my career.
I work at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where I serve families in the intensive care nursery and the birthing pavilion. So, when they are having new babies, I get to make sure they are well resourced. If their babies are born early or with some type of illness or condition, I get to serve them while they figure out what their baby’s life will look like. The job has some challenges, but it has helped me transition here to the Upper Valley. I talk to people about the resources I personally took advantage of during my pregnancy.
Working at Dartmouth has helped me feel more connected because the things that I do on a daily basis are helpful to other people. My job has helped me find some purpose and some relevance in the community. I think that being able to do something meaningful to who you are is essential to seeing yourself somewhere. Feeling connected to a place happens with time, but it is finding significance that allows us to stay. The whole time that we have been here I have felt that significance, relevance, and purpose. I definitely see myself staying here now.” – L’Tonya Johnson, Lebanon, NH
