Nieves Taveras has a way of making everyone who comes to Encore Community Services’s Senior Center in Times Square feel comfortable.

She says her love of caring for the elderly started early.

“I had a passion for older adults when I was very young, when I was in high school,” remembered Taveras. “There was so much isolation and neglect in the older community that I had an attraction for that, and I want to make them happy.”

Most days, that means making sure meals are prepared and delivered with care, overseeing staff and running activities. It’s a career the Dominican Republic native started at just 23 years old. After emigrating to the US as a teenager, her family settled in a small apartment in Washington Heights. The transition wasn’t easy.

“I came from a free land, a lot of land to play and fresh air, and I was really isolated,” said Taveras. “It was scary.”

But soon, she found a purpose helping her older Spanish-speaking neighbors, acting as the neighborhood’s go to English translator.

“When somebody needed to go, let’s say, to the social security office,” Taveras said. “I started at an early age going with people in the community that needed an interpreter to go with them.”

Decades later and she’s still serving and being inspired by her elders.

“You work so hard all your life, you raise a family and then you’re here. What do you do after 60? What do you do after 65? What do yo do after 70? And, these people are so active,” she said.

Now that she’s a senior herself, she said her work has taught her to make the most of this stage of life.

“I’m looking forward for retirement, to go on trips [and] not to worry about working,” said Taveras.

But, she has no plans to slow down anytime soon. She’s still focused on helping as many people as possible enjoy their senior years.

“We want to keep them interested. We want to do things that they can enjoy, so it’s not the end of life.”