Anderson, who grew up in the tony Connecticut town of Deep River, left for the city two years ago, her mother said. She moved from Queens to Harlem to her current digs in Bushwick, Brooklyn — all the while working and applying to schools.



"She has her own life; she's been away for a couple of years now. I don't even know who her friends are," her mother said.

Anderson works as a waitress at the Union Square restaurant Kibo, and was informed Sunday that it was closing, a friend and co-worker said.