If you’ve ever walked through DOROT’s doors to attend our programs, you've been met with the warm welcome and wide smile of our receptionist, Tenzin. Read more about Tenzin’s early life and career (including working for His Holiness, the XIV Dali Lama of Tibet!), his family of five (including one with four legs), and insights on DOROT and the work that we do.
“My name is Tenzin Wangden Andrugtsang. I am a Tibetan by birth. Born and raised in India. I am a college graduate from Punjab University (India) with master’s in political science. I completed two years of teachers training and taught in a junior high Tibetan school in India (the school where I graduated.) I also worked in the Department of Education in the Tibetan Government. Later, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to work in the Office of His Holiness the XIV Dali Lama of Tibet as a receptionist (that’s where I picked up my receptionist skills I guess!)
I met my wife in school. We were friends then, but the relationship continued and went to the next level while attending college. We fell in love and stayed together ever since. We married shortly after graduating college and have three beautiful kids, two boys (one human/one canine) and a girl (they are no longer kids but adults, though the canine is just 14 months old!)
We moved to the U.S. about 16 years ago and have lived here in NY ever since. I have worked various jobs as an immigrant and eventually landed at DOROT. I started work at DOROT in May 2022. DOROT was totally a new work environment for me (in the U.S.) I loved the fact that I was constantly talking with people of different age groups and from different backgrounds.
I love helping older adults and DOROT gives me this opportunity to do so. DOROT builds a bridge which closes the gap between the young and the old, and I am so glad to be one of the bricks in that bridge. The gap has left the older adults ignored and isolated. In the process of closing this gap, DOROT builds a strong trust between the two generations and creates a bond whereby both generations walk away with wonderful experiences, memories, and a lasting relationship. This organization is noble and noble in what it does.
Finally, I would like to share a beautiful quote by the XIV Dalai Lama on kindness:
“Right from the moment of our birth, we are under the care and kindness of our parents, and then, later on in our life when we are oppressed by sickness and become old, we are again dependent on the kindness of others. Since at the beginning and end of our lives we are so dependent on other's kindness, how can it be in the middle, that we would neglect kindness towards others?”
Thank you.” - Tenzin
Thank YOU, Tenzin, for all you do!