I’m on the running team at the Y. I’ve been on the running team for—well they started in, when Worcester first had—Worcester has had a half marathon take place in June and it’s now coming into its third year. So I’ve been on the running team for a couple of years now. We trained specifically for that first half-marathon. And other than—I don’t have anything specific that I must do. I enjoy spending time with my friends. So, there’s a lot of—I love social activity and being around people with the same common interests. So I relish the relationships that I have and having relationships, it’s a lot of work. It’s maintaining those friendships through good and bad and it’s a two-way street.
Cherylann Holman was born on Belmont Hill in Worcester in 1969. She attended Belmont Hill Elementary, Worcester East Middle, and Fanning Trade School where she studied to become a hairdresser. She married after high school and had her two sons, Tyler and Nicholas. After divorcing her husband she was a single-parent to her sons who were four and six. She worked at an insurance company, now known as Hanover Insurance, for 19 years. She then attended the Salter School and received her medical assistant certification and worked in the medical oncology department at St. Vincent’s Hospital. She now works at the YMCA on Main Street. She is active in her parish, St.Peters, and is on the running team on the YMCA. In this interview Cherylann discusses growing up in Worcester and touches upon spending time at such popular places as the Worcester Galleria and Skylite. She remembers the Blizzard of ’78 and the 1999 Worcester Cold Storage Fire. She shares her experiences of having gastric bypass surgery as well as overcoming alcoholism through spirituality and having a positive outlook on life. She emphasizes the importance of staying healthy that she instills in her sons as well as the value of friends, family, and God. She provides inspiration and advice to young girls, stressing the importance of getting an education.