Community Magazine July 2021

52 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Woman Woman to One on One with ELLEN GELLER KAMARAS "After I got married, we spent 23 summers in Bar Harbor, Maine, the gateway to Acadia National Park. The park is the first sight of the sunrise in the U.S. for half of the year. When you see the birds, nature’s colors and variations, and how the world is organized, you know it all comes from Hashem.” Sherry l Bouganim - Sherryl Please meet Sherryl Bouganim (formerly Sherryl Betesh), a positive, spiritual, creative, warm, strong, and vibrant woman. She is as an outdoor enthusiast who loves to garden and appreciates all things about nature. Sherryl is easy to talk to. We connected immediately and a friendship was born. Sherryl’s positive energy and warm-heartedness is contagious. Sherryl, the daughter of Claire and Morris E. Harary, grew up in Bensonhurst and Flatbush. Of Syrian descent on both sides, Sherryl’s parents were born in the United States. She is grateful for the close-knit bonds she has with her two sisters and brother. Her family’s loveof Torahcanbe traced toher Syriangrandparents, especially to her paternal grandfather who had smicha and was a learning partnerofChiefRabbi JacobKassin , zt”l, and HachamBaruch Ben Haim, zt”l . One of Sherryl’s fondest memories is walking to shul on 67 th Street at the age of nine to meet her grandmother, Sarah Menaged. Sherryl treasured Shabbat and holidays with her grandparents, and Grandma Sarah taught Sherryl how to cook. SCHOOL DAYS Sherryl was an enthusiastic student and even skipped a grade. She was friendly even as a child, a true people person. Sherryl’s best subjects were science, English, art, and phys ed. She was honored with a National Junior Science award. A natural athlete, Sherryl was on the JCH swim team and earned a junior lifeguard certificate. At Madison High School she joined the gymnastics team and competed on the balance beam statewide. Sherryl’s creative bent sparked at a young age and in high school she excelled in art. Sherryl’s passion for art took different directions as she journeyed through life. As a child Sherryl began as a dancer (ballet, tap, and jazz). She painted and drew in high school, sang in the Glee Club, and won a post-high school Metropolitan Museum scholarship. Sherryl became a professional makeup artist after high school. She enjoyed gardening as an adult, trained to become a Pilates instructor, enhanced her culinary skills, and appeared on cooking shows with her mom. Moving back to New Jersey, Sherryl harnessed her creativity to become an expert event planner for community fundraising. The Hararys were inspiring role models and they strongly shaped Sherryl’s values, philosophy, and life perspective. Sherryl also acquired her entrepreneurial spirit and strong work ethic from them. Her dad, Morris, was a mason on civil record and owned collectibles stores. Sherryl’s mother’s retail niche was home accessories. “I was amazed in the summer how mom had the house spiffy and clean, dinner cooked, and got the four of us out to the beach by 11am daily.” Sherryl worked from the age of eleven, babysitting at a beach cabana. Using her talent for art and fashion, she landed jobs at a jewelry shop, a shoe store in the West Village, and Crazy Eddie. Her effortless ability to talk to anyone made her a terrific salesperson. By the age of twelve, Sherryl’s ballet studies led her to the accomplishment of dancing “ en pointe .” She thankfully learned about hesed in a defining moment: her ballet teacher asked if she would give her toe shoes to a girl who could not afford her own. At fourteen, Sherryl worked in Manhattan after school and took the train to visit museums frequently. Her love of art increased with each visit. “My parents taught me to be proactive, independent, open- minded, kind, and friendly. I often brought home classmates of different backgrounds. My parents believed that if you want to get things done and you put your mind to it, it can get done. Hashem gives us the innate ability and brains to attain our goals.” POST HIGH SCHOOL METAMORPHOSIS After high school graduation, Sherryl took a job in a cosmetics boutique on Madison Avenue and she became an accomplished makeup artist. Sherryl learned how to apply makeup on celebrities and also taught makeup application. One client was so impressed with Sherryl’s talent that he offered to establish a cosmetics business for her in California. Imagine that you could be a caterpillar one moment and a butterfly the next. You don’t just wake up and become the butterfly. Growth is a process. Early on in our interview, Sherryl compared herself to a butterfly. I first thought of a social butterfly, a charming and talkative person who is a good leader and motivates others. Digging deeper, I remembered that a butterfly is one of the most colorful and vivid insects and that it starts out as a caterpillar and changes into a butterfly through metamorphosis. As you read Sherryl’s story, you will see how fitting the butterfly analogy is and how Sherryl grew and developed new skills as she entered different life stages.