Grandparent Profile: Stefania Jha
I am Stefania Jha, Jackie and Amelia is Jha's grandmother. Jackie is in the Class of 2022, Amelia joining the Class of 2026 in the fall. I am also a member of the Burke's Grandparents' Council.
I was born to Austro-Hungarian parents at the beginning of World War II and grew up in Hungary. My family escaped from Soviet-occupied Hungary to Yugoslavia when I was a teenager. We lived in a refugee camp for several months, until my Austrian grandmother arranged for an exit for us to Austria through the Red Cross. After almost a year in Vienna, we migrated to Melbourne, Australia, where I learned to speak English and finished secondary school.
Because our only relatives in an English-speaking country were in Boston, we applied and were granted immigration status for the United States. We lived in Massachusetts for almost 50 years where I attended college in Boston and graduate school in Cambridge. I became a philosopher of science. During my studies, I met my husband, a chemical engineering student from India.
We had two sons, Raj (Jackie and Amelia's father) and his younger brother, both of whom grew up in Massachusetts. When Raj came to San Francisco to establish his law firm, marry Dawn who had a pediatric practice here, and start a family, my husband and I decided to transfer our lives and work to San Francisco so we could share in the growing years of our grandchildren. They have been a treasure.
Our younger son, a mathematician, who lives overseas with his wife, comes to see the family often and challenges his favorite nieces to reach their best.
For the past four years I have been watching Jackie blossom at Burke's, be engaged in and excited about her studies and finding the community to be supportive. I joined the Grandparents' Council to offer what I can toward this nurturing environment for the girls' development. I am looking forward to many years of involvement with Burke's.
Because our only relatives in an English-speaking country were in Boston, we applied and were granted immigration status for the United States. We lived in Massachusetts for almost 50 years where I attended college in Boston and graduate school in Cambridge. I became a philosopher of science. During my studies, I met my husband, a chemical engineering student from India.
We had two sons, Raj (Jackie and Amelia's father) and his younger brother, both of whom grew up in Massachusetts. When Raj came to San Francisco to establish his law firm, marry Dawn who had a pediatric practice here, and start a family, my husband and I decided to transfer our lives and work to San Francisco so we could share in the growing years of our grandchildren. They have been a treasure.
Our younger son, a mathematician, who lives overseas with his wife, comes to see the family often and challenges his favorite nieces to reach their best.
For the past four years I have been watching Jackie blossom at Burke's, be engaged in and excited about her studies and finding the community to be supportive. I joined the Grandparents' Council to offer what I can toward this nurturing environment for the girls' development. I am looking forward to many years of involvement with Burke's.