Meet the Trainer: Sue-May Lin
After working in tech for twenty years and then as an evidence-based fitness program instructor, Sue-May Lin joined the Senior Planet team in late 2023 as a Mandarin speaking tech trainer.
We caught up with this Californian to discuss the upcoming Lunar New Year and her passion for making artisanal chocolates.
What are some of your favorite parts about being a trainer?
One of my favorite parts is seeing seniors apply the knowledge they have learned to improve their daily lives. We are living in such a rapidly changing world and I see seniors come to the classroom eager to learn new skills. It really inspires me.
How do you like to spend time outside of work?
My passion is making artisanal chocolates. It’s a beautiful, Zen experience for me – everything from tempering the chocolate to packaging them. It’s a lot of process, but it’s a wonderful journey, ending with getting to share the confections with my family and friends.
It’s almost the Lunar New Year! How do you celebrate?
I’ve been in the United States for many years, so the Lunar New Year is a nostalgic time for me. I miss the food my mom would make every year – she’d spend so much time preparing it.
Now, with the family I have here, we always make dumplings. We put candy in several dumplings and if you get one of those you will have good fortune for the year! It’s lots of fun. People will not stop eating until we finish them all — 200 or 300 dumplings!
This is the Year of the Dragon, which is very special because the dragon symbolizes great power, strength and wisdom.
What does Aging with Attitude mean to you?
I think we should all live the second phase of our life with purpose. It doesn’t matter what you want to do. As long as you have a purpose and a positive attitude.
Plus, old is gold! I think I’m much smarter than I was thirty or forty years ago.
YOUR TURN
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Pam Hugi is Senior Planet’s Community and Advocacy Manager. Based in Brooklyn, she is a contributing writer for this site.
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Comments
Wow, love this article! It’s nice to read about her positive attitude, and it makes me feel better about getting older too.
Love learning about Sue-May and her bilingual ability to serve our Chinese seniors! Thank you and I hope to meet Sue-May sometime in the near future! Candy in the dumplings!!! Wow, will have to try that next year! As a Chinese American, I’m learning something new, fun and innovative to celebrate our traditional New Year celebration! Thank you!
As the OATS from AARP Regional Program Manager for the Western Region, I can’t thank Sue-May enough for her tireless work in empowering our older adult participants both online and in-person through our amazing partnership with AACI! Thanks so much, Sue-May – you are so greatly appreciated!