“Bad times make good people, as mountainous pressure makes diamonds or as fire tempers steel.” – Peter Kreeft
While this is not Margaret Teelucksingh’s favorite quote, while interviewing her, I immediately thought of this after hearing all she had to say. After dealing with many problems and disappointments in her life, Margaret has become a better person for it.
Born in Trinidad, Margaret lived a nice and simple life, excelling in school while she was younger. Some great memories come back to her, such as picking mangos and avocados from trees, getting fresh cow and goat milk, and just being a child in Trinidad. Margaret was not just a child, she was a very smart one too, crediting her good grades to the fact that she would never receive toys as gifts when she was little, rather only books! Her father felt it was important for Margaret to become educated and secure a good job after school. She did just that!
Working in the Ministry of Finance’s Inland Revenue Division, among other government services for 15 years Margaret was exposed to all different kinds of work. After her 15 years of work in Trinidad, is when Margaret decided to make the move to the United States.
Directly after her move to the U.S. Margaret began to work for a beverage company, where her current boss, Bob Jahelka was the outsourced accountant. Unfortunately for the company, but fortunately for DSJ, the beverage company went under, freeing Margaret up to work for Jahelka & Co. about 3 days a week, for 5-6 hours a day. This was before Bob Jahelka’s merge with Tony Demasco, and Vincent Sena, a move to officially form DSJ.
While working for Bob, Margaret would take 3 different buses to get to the office before even starting at work. After arriving to work she describes the working environment as one that felt like an extension of the family. Not only did it feel this way, in a sense it was, as both Bob’s mom & dad worked at Jahelka & Co., helping out on a part-time basis.
Flashing back, Margaret looks fondly on these times and recalls “how sweet” both Bob’s mom & dad were, as well as their morning meetings eating breakfast together and getting their workload for the day assigned. Additionally, Margaret recalls how different things were, as all tax returns needed to be computed by hand, then dropped off at a separate location to be processed before being picked back up.
Working alongside Bob at Jahelka & Co., Margaret loved to be taught by Bob and joked that although Bob is one of the only non-teachers in his family, he may still have a career after accounting in it.
Past the good times at work, babysitting and taking care of “Little Stevie” AKA our Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Jahelka in her free time was another one of Margaret’s all-time favorite experiences. Margaret also wanted to point out, that Stephen would jump all over the house and on the couches as he could not sit still due to his high motor, a trait still seen in Steve today!
After Margaret wraps up for the day with her family at DSJ, she goes home to be with her son Eric, of whom she is very proud, and who she has been taking care of since he began to walk. While at home Margaret loves to do a few things, including walking around barefoot, reading a book on her iPad, and relaxing. In between winding down after a day of work, Margaret prides herself on always cooking her meals, and never eating out.
Just as she is consistent with cooking her own meals every day, Margaret shows up to work ready to tackle anything put in front of her, every single day. Being the longest-tenured employee of DSJ, it is obvious she loves it here, and that love is fully reciprocated. Margaret says, “As long as I’m doing a good job, I know I’m doing enough in this life.”
Get to Know My Favorite:
Author: Marie Corelli
Music Genre: Anything from Trinidad, or soft rock
Sports: Football and cricket
Color: Loves them all too much to pick – “Colors are beautiful!”
Event: Trinidad and Tobago Carnival
Activity: Days at various beaches in Trinidad