Catching up with Sherry Cesare
Sherry Cesare has jammed more into the past 14 years than most people are able to do in a lifetime. When she was handed her Huntington High School diploma in June 1994, not even she could have imagined the fabulous international journey that was about to begin.
While at Huntington, Ms. Cesare was involved in many clubs, including four years with the student government, president of BUTY (Bring Unity to Youth), Key club, National Honor Society, environmental awareness club and S.A.R.A.H (Student Animal Rights Activists of Huntington).
She also played on the Blue Devil tennis team and was captain of the softball team. In the 1994 edition of the Huntingtonian, the high school yearbook, Ms. Cesare is listed as the recipient of the Most School Spirit Award. She won many other senior awards, too, including the coveted Alumni Cup. “I can’t believe how time flies,” she said recently while looking back over the past 14 years.
Following her high school graduation, Ms. Cesare attended Tulane University in New Orleans. It’s where she found her true passion in life, majoring in Latin American studies, with a double minor in international business and Spanish.
While at Tulane, Ms. Cesare participated in the “summers abroad” program. One summer she studied at El Universidad in Mexico City, another summer was spent in Cuba, where she was one of the first recipients of an education visa to study at the Universidad de Habana.
Ms. Cesare was very active in the Latin and American Students Association at Tulane and took time to enjoy the varied cultural aspects that New Orleans offers. Today she remains active on the Tulane Alumni Committee, representing the university at college fairs and informational sessions for prospective students in hopes of increasing the school’s enrollment to pre-Hurricane Katrina figures.
Following her college graduation, the Huntington alum moved to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where she taught English for six months before returning to New York to attend graduate school at New York University and living in Manhattan for two years.
Ms. Cesare received her Master’s degree at NYU in 2001 in Latina American studies and international business. While on a trip doing research in Venezuela for her thesis, she met her eventual husband, Carlos Pumar.
Upon receipt of her Master’s degree, the Huntington grad moved to Venezuela where she lived for six months, before returning to New York with Mr. Pumar and settling down in Huntington.
Today, Mrs. Cesare-Pumar is employed at John J. Cesare and Associates, a Woodbury-based investment and insurance firm. She specializes in 403b tax-sheltered retirement accounts for teachers and other public school employees, as well as various investment products.
Mr. Pumar, who is a teacher assistant in the Woodhull Intermediate School computer lab, is pursuing a Master’s degree in education at C.W. Post College. He hopes to teach Spanish at Huntington High School one day.
The couple frequently travels to Venezuela and other Latin American countries. Last week they made just such a trip to Venezuela. At home in Huntington, they enjoy spending time with friends and family and playing with their French bulldog.
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