New Jersey City University (NJCU) alumna Bertha Dolores Wilson Miller ‘87 has a century’s worth of experience and memories, as the alumna celebrated living a full life on her 100th birthday on June 8.
Miller reminisced about her time as an NJCU student and described it as a “crossroads” moment in her professional career.
“I became a reading specialist because I love working with children,” said Miller about her reasons for continuing her education.
Raised by her foster parents, Hester and Robert Wilson, Miller learned the value of hard work and education at an early age while attending Oliver Street Elementary School, Robert Treat Jr. High School and graduating from West Side High School in Newark in 1943.
During World War II, Miller held a clerical position at Prudential in Newark. Her post-war career included jobs to help make ends meet while raising her three children with her husband, James.
At the age of 51, Miller returned to school while others were contemplating retirement. In 1981, she enrolled at Kean College, now Kean University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education while balancing her work with studies. Then NJCU came into her life, when she enhanced her qualifications with an NJ State Certification in Special Education and a Master of Arts/Reading Specialist degree back when the school was known as Jersey City State College. She became a member of the Alpha Upsilon Alpha Honorary Reading Fraternity, and graduated at the age of 63.
Her teaching career, which began in 1966, spanned 25 years, working with the Newark Preschool Council Head Start program, Aunt Millie’s Private School and Hurden Looker Elementary and W.O. Krumbiegel Middle Schools in Hillside, where she earned the “Teacher of the Year’’ award in 1985.
Outside of the classroom, Miller is a life member of the National Council of Negro Women and volunteered with numerous organizations such as Kemco, Stella Wright, Walsh Home, Soweto After School Programs, NJPAC, Project H.O.P.E, and served as a 4H Leader.
An artist at heart, Miller studied millinery, pattern drafting and line model sketching in New York City. She started “Naturally Me,” a home-based baking business specializing in organic products. Her work, which includes models of Newark City Hall, Lackawanna Station, Krueger Mansion and the former Tiffany Building were displayed at NJPAC in 2016. Her artwork was also exhibited at the Kenilworth and Union Public Libraries in 2019.
In 2022, Bertha experienced a pinnacle in her art career. At the age of 98, she was honored as the oldest contributing artist at the Newark Museum where her abstract impressionist pieces were showcased during the Newark Art Festival.
“If I could go back in time I would follow my dreams earlier in my life,” she said. “That’s the advice I would give anyone in school right now. Follow your dreams because you don’t want to get to 100 and wonder what could have been.”
