I am Miosotys Santiago, the founder of Exemplify to Edify, LLC, and I am an Inspirational Speaker. I am a survivor of child molestation, teen rape, attempted teen suicide, teen pregnancy and domestic violence. I am also a survivor of the attacks on September 11, 2001. I escaped Tower One but lost my fiancé on the 93rd floor in Tower One.
My Mission statement is “Your Pain Becomes Your Purpose” and I truly believe that to be true. I have made it my passion and mission to use my victories, perseverance, and resilience as tools to help another teen or woman out of their brokenness.
My passion is to host teen and women’s self-care workshops (Vision Board parties) in New London and surrounding cities. I have spoken in schools and at the Groton Senior Center. I am an advocate for victims of Domestic Violence, and I am currently working on workshops for self-developing and discovering deep talents that may be hidden underneath the surface of fear, shame, or self-rejection through writing. I am an Amazon best-selling co-author and ambassador in the I Am My Story: Our Voices anthology and movement. And I am an Independent consultant with a Health & Wellness company called Arbonne, advocating a new healthy eating lifestyle for a better and greater you. I have been a student at Three Rivers since 2016, pursuing my Associates in Liberal Arts & Science.
I recently resigned from my full-time position to become a full-time caregiver to a relative who is currently battling Dementia/Alzheimer's. My last day as a full-time employee was January 31st, and I can't thank God enough for allowing me to be home with him these last seven months. I can't even imagine having placed him in a nursing home and not being able to see him during Covid. It was very hard trying to keep a man with dementia quarantined in an apartment when he was used to walking four miles a day before retirement.
For my organization, it's been at a complete standstill and I have not made any income from my business this entire seven months, so that did impact my home financially.
My oldest two daughters lost their father to Covid-19 in Miami on July 16th, 2020. It’s been an emotional three months. To have to say goodbye to someone that you loved and watch your children crying for their father on a Zoom call is not natural, and it has left some deep scars and wounds within my family. There is an upside to this during this downtime though: I completed my second book, a memoir that consists of seven chapters of my life experiences, was accepted into the Chamber of Commerce leadership program and also accepted into the leadership program for Dr Matthew Stevenson as part of my self-development as a community leader in Ministry as well.
The city of New London has been very resilient. The cases remained low and I believe everyone dealt with it to the best of their ability. I'm praying for a great comeback in 2021, may God bless us all.
Submitted by Miosotys Santiago on Oct, 15, 2020
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