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More than child’s play
Patti Brocato has been a mainstay of the South Campus site of the UB Child Care Center for nearly 20 years. Photo: NANCY J. PARISI
An infectious spirit. A can-do attitude. An unwavering positivity. Patti Brocato embodies those traits every day as she greets the children and parents at the UB Child Care Center on the South Campus. The center, with its North Campus counterpart, attends to the children—ages six weeks to five years—of UB faculty, staff and students.
Brocato has been a fixture in the front office of Butler Annex A for nearly 20 years, dispensing her enthusiasm and charm as receptionist and unofficial teacher.
“I work with the children, mainly the preschoolers, in the play area or reading a book,” she relates. “I talk to them, let them know that I’m not just a person who sits here and answers the phone in the front office. I like to take part in their everyday experiences.”
Some children ask her about the quad cane or wheelchair that she uses. She matter-of-factly explains and they nod and go about their activities.
She was like them as a youth, inquisitive and spirited, until her world changed shortly before her 13th birthday when doctors discovered she had a benign brain tumor. Surgery left her paralyzed on her right side, nerve deafness in her left ear, double vision when moving her left eye. She could barely walk, talk or hold her head up.
Brocato credits her family for the support to overcome such huge obstacles. When doctors gave the young girl less than a 20 percent chance of recovery, her mother was determined to defy those odds. She went outside the normal medical route with her daughter and tried acupuncture, and chiropractic and physical therapy. Mostly, though, her mother instilled a conquering spirit in Patti that continues strongly to this day.
“I encourage people to keep on trying and never give up,” says Brocato. “I beat the odds of making it off the operating table and proved that I would not remain a living vegetable in a wheelchair.”
Her determination soon got her back to middle school and then through high school at Kenmore East. She first arrived at UB in 1974, working in the dean’s office in the former School of Health Related Professions, a position gained through the former federal job-training program of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA).
Brocato continued her education, eventually graduating with a B.A. in English from UB in 1989. Describing herself as a voracious reader, she is currently pursuing her master’s degree in education to become a certified teacher. “I never want to stop learning,” she says.
Her career at the child care center began with a suggestion made by Faculty Student Association employee Steve Cleary, whom she met by chance in Goodyear Hall.
“He was delivering lunches here and he was telling me how great it was to work here with all the children, so I sent in my resume,” she recalls. Her relationship with Cleary and her position at the center both lovingly endure.
Brocato has seen generations come through the annex doors. “Diversity is the key,” she says of the youthful population. “I love children. I look forward to coming to work all the time.”
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