THE INTERVIEW: ACTRESS AND TELEVISION PERSONALITY FLORETTE VASSALL (PART 4 OF 5)

HEY EVERYBODY: I KNOW YOU'RE JUST DYING FOR THE ANSWER, SO HERE IT IS: FLO HAS JUST FILMED ANOTHER TV COMMERCIAL AND IS APPEARING SOON IN A MILLER LITE SPOT ON ESPN. WATCH FOR HER AND SAY, "HEY THAT'S THE LADY MICHAEL MANNING INTERVIEWED!" OKAY, SO NOW YOU KNOW. THIS LADY IS TOPS! NOW BACK TO WINDING DOWN OUR LAST TWO INTERVIEW INSTALLMENTS:

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MM: You not only mentor children, but I happen to know for a fact that were it not for you, God knows how many of these boys and girls in New York City would have skipped school altogether and wound up either dead or behind bars. So many have finished high school and went on to college because of Florette Vassall. How did this come about?
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FV: I WAS A TEACHER FOR A VERY LONG TIME AND MY CHILDREN STILL COME BACK TO ME FROM AS FAR BACK AS 1955 WHEN I WAS TEACHING DOWN ON NEW YORK'S LOWER EAST SIDE. ONE IS THE DEAN OF A COLLEGE IN NEW JERSEY. SOME COME TO ME WITH THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR GRAND CHILDREN. MANY INVITE ME TO ATTEND THEIR WEDDINGS OR THEIR GRADUATIONS FROM COLLEGE. MY STUDENTS WHOM I TAUGHT IN MEXICO ARE EMPLOYED IN THE TOP HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS IN ACAPULCO. ANYTIME I ENCOUNTER ONE OF THEM ON THE JOB THEY ARE ALWAYS HAPPY TO SEE ME AND NEVER STOP THANKING ME FOR TEACHING THEM TO SPEAK SUCH GOOD ENGLISH. THEY TOO COME TO ME WITH THEIR CHILDREN AND GRAND CHILDREN AND INVITE ME TO THEIR WEDDINGS AND GRADUATIONS. ______

MM: My God, that has to be unbelievably rewarding, Flo.

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FV: IT IS A GREAT FEELING!

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MM: I don't think I'm speaking out of turn here when I share with our audience that you have weathered so many challenges in your own life. But two years ago, you completed your Bachelors Degree from Fordham University. Can you tell us what this was like for you? How do you balance hosting a cable Television show, producing, editing the video, modeling, acting in television commercials and teaching children in addition to running EVVY in Acapulco?

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FV: I RECEIVED MY DEGREE FROM FORDHAM IN 1998. WHEN I WAS TEACHING AT ST. JEROME SCHOOL, THE PRINCIPAL, MS. LINDA MELE, ENCOURAGED ME TO FINISH MY EDUCATION. SHE GOT ME TO LET HER SEE MY 1954-1957 TRANSCRIPT FROM ST. JOHNS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE AND ENCOURAGED ME TO ENROLL IN THE ADULT PROGRAM THAT EXISTED AT FORDHAM UNIVERSITY COLLEGE AT LINCOLN CENTER. GETTING ADMITTED WAS NOT A PROBLEM. GETTING THROUGH IT ALL WAS NOT EASY AT THAT AGE AND WITH MY DISABILITIES COMPLICATING THINGS... ...BUT, I ALWAYS LOVED LEARNING AND EVEN THOUGH I WORKED UNBELIEVABLY HARD, I REMEMBERED THAT MY HIGH SCHOOL DREAM HAD ALWAYS BEEN TO GRADUATE FROM FORDHAM. TO ME, IT WAS THE COLLEGE OF MY DREAMS! I WAS SO IMPRESSED BY ITS LEGACY. AFTER I RECEIVED MY B.A. IN ENGLISH, I REALIZED THAT DREAMS DO COME TRUE. IN THE CASE OF GRADUATING FROM FORDHAM, MINE SURE DID! I DON'T BALANCE, I JUGGLE AND I'M SURPRISED THAT I DON'T LOSE WEIGHT FASTER WITH ALL OF THIS ACTIVITY. IT IS SOMEWHAT CRAZY LIVING IN TWO COUNTRIES, BUT I'VE DONE IT FOR FORTY-FOUR YEARS. I GUESS THE BEST THING I CAN SAY ABOUT IT IS THAT I MAY BE ABLE TO HAVE A PARTY CELEBRATING A 50TH ANNIVERSARY IN ACAPULCO. THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO.

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Note: We finish our visit with Florette Vassall tomorrow! Join us!!