Nadia Bonilla Gross is the Marketing/Media Designer and Social Media Specialist at the Wilmington Library and is this week’s #PeopleOfWilmDE! Read her story below.
“I was born and raised on the West Side of Wilmington, DE. I went to Bayard Elementary (now Bayard Middle), went to the L.A.C.C (Latin American Community Center) for afterschool care and summer camp for a lot of my childhood, attended A. I DuPont Middle School, received my G.E.D through The Wilmington Job Corps Center, and attended college at Wilmington University where I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Media Design with a concentration in Photography. I have worked in Wilmington at different locations throughout the years and moved to Middletown 3 years ago. I have continued to work in Wilmington and have worked at the library for 4 years.
Three interesting facts about me are:
1. I earned my bachelor’s degree while raising 3 small children with my husband, Eric.
2. I was featured in the Wilmington University magazine, as well as on their billboards and in their ads all over Delaware. I am still featured on their website today.
3. I am a real estate entrepreneur. I bought my first home in my early 20s and now I own a profitable investment property.
I might be biased here, but my favorite attraction is the Wilmington Library. I love the events and books! My favorite event there so far was “Choppin’ it Up with the cast of “A Different World.” The most recent book I really enjoyed from there was “The House of Eve” by Sadeqa Johnson. A couple of places I love going to for lunch are getting take-out from Tropicalia Restaurant or the Dominican Café, or stopping at Fares Halal food truck on 10th and West. You can’t go wrong with anything you order there! For an ideal night out in Wilmington, I’d head to Wilma’s for New Orleans-style food and then walk over to The Queen for a concert and drinks! Also, even though it’s only around once a year, it’s worth mentioning my absolute favorite night out is at the Christmas-themed bar BLIZTEN! Be sure to order a “Resting Blitz Face.”
Being in Wilmington has helped me be where I am today professionally because it provided opportunities to network and meet new people that I probably would have never met if I were not in Wilmington. It has helped me develop personally by growing my interpersonal skills and pushing me to try things I’ve never done before. The reason why I continue to work in Wilmington is because a part of me just can’t let go. I enjoy the small city life, food and events. But most of all I wanted to work where I grew up. Working in Wilmington has given me the opportunity to give back to my community. Most recently for the Wilmington Hispanic Festival & Parade, with the help of a coworker, we were able to order and pack 300 bags full of free books to be passed out with the help of the Roberto Clemente Baseball League for a total of 600 free books given to toddlers and preteens. Then I passed out an additional 200 free books at our vendor table. All books provided were bilingual, Spanish, English and books of Hispanic interest. It felt so good to give back!
I’m really glad that Wilmington finally starting to get the limelight it deserves! As the city continues to grow, I would like to see more shelters for the homeless.
While I can be shy at times, I would say my advice to Wilmingonians is to network and meet new people. Wilmington is too small for some of us to not know each other!”
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