Pranaya Soeraadiningrat joined VV's Emeritus program in February of 2019. We're excited to learn more about Pranaya, who also goes by Naya, in our Q & A below.
Question: Can you tell us some things you enjoy about working at VV?
Answer: What I love most about VV are the participants we serve and their openness to learn new things. In the Emeritus department, our team has really enjoyed utilizing our creativity to expand some of our programming. For example, we’ve been able to host an awesome Science Zoom class where we learn about new topics each week like the formation of the solar system and the science behind volcanoes.
My favorite part of this job has definitely got to be the close friendships I’ve been able to develop with my co-workers and our participants. I’m lucky to be able to call my co-workers at VV not only my friends, but also my family.
Question: What is something that could be added, removed or changed to make VV better?
Answer: I believe there’s always room for improvement but, given all the hardship we’ve gone through in the last year, it’s hard to say what we could do better at VV. I believe all the staff at VV has truly stepped up in the best way they could to ensure our clients get the service and representation they deserve. And I’ve been so proud and inspired by everyone I work with this last year! I hope that, when our facilities reopen, we can keep this spirit going and adapt the things we’ve learned in quarantine to make our days at VV even more fulfilling than before.
Question: Did you volunteer or work with people with disabilities before working at VV?
Answer: Before working at VV, I had never worked with people with disabilities. But, when I was in high school, my best friend and prom date, Mark, had high function autism and we shared the same Fine Arts teacher. Mark is now designing theater costumes for a local theater in San Juan Capistrano and he has always been such a huge inspiration to me as an artist. Mark was one of the reasons why I pursued a higher education in fine art photography and, to this day, he is such a great friend to me.
Question: What’s an interesting, unique or fun fact about you?
Answer: An interesting fact about me is that I went to art school in New York City and grew up with two kind hearted artists for parents. My father used to design gowns and my mother was a professional traditional Indonesian dancer who has traveled the world. Both of them remind me that there is so much joy to share with others through art, culture and creativity.
Question: What is your motto for life or a quote that really resonates with you?
Answer: “Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.” - Vincent Van Gogh
You can find Pranaya hosting several Zoom classes including Science, Art History and Cooking. We appreciate Naya's enthusiasm and creativity in making our programming exciting and educational for our participants.
