 In 1988, I remember that year because I was eight, I was losing teeth. I was standing in front of the library and Linda Burton Brooks walked by and she asked my grandmother if I could come into the library. Linda Burton Brooks is a mother to me and many, many, many other women who were 42 years old in Bayview. She would give us any and everything we needed, especially her time. Going forward, this library shaped my life when it came to research, the teen center, especially the librarians. They were all women. They taught black history, the Muhammad Ali Room. I remember having so many meetings there about my culture and as a culture keeper, Linda sent me off to college. She got me so many books. I loved it. I literally studied abroad in Africa because of the books. She's like my mentor and I keep a very large picture of her in my offices and in my classrooms. I'm an educator and I don't teach without Linda Burton Brooks, Sojourner Truth or Harriet Tubman pictures in my room. My name is Tishelle and I'm an educator here in San Francisco, California. I have helped 1,700 students or more go to college. My story starts with SFPL.