Rachel Nicola made the choice to work with adults over children a few years ago because adults with disabilities, she said, “have been through some tough times over the years, they weren’t always treated so well.”
“I connect on a unique level with the adults in my program,” she said. “They put a smile on my face every day.”
Rachel works at a particularly challenging home, a program she handpicked after working part-time at another site. Six of the eight individuals cannot walk, five cannot talk, and two are blind.
“Whatever their challenges, they light up when I walk in the room,” she said. “They know each of our footsteps when we come to work or walk down the hall. We laugh together all the time. I don’t get this feeling at any other job I’ve done,” she said. “It’s like I gained a new family.”
Rachel recalls applying for the job five years ago, a random act on the Internet. “I had no idea what I was getting into,” she said, particularly that it would lead to her winning Employee of the Year among 800 other workers. She started at BCArc working part-time at a day time program, and gradually increased her hours to full time two years ago. She splits her shifts morning and evening to give her space in afternoon for other pursuits, including lifeguarding and swimming lessons in the summer.
“I don’t get this feeling at any other job I’ve done. It’s like I gained a new family.”
At work she’s known to clean the floors, adjust her schedule to take individuals to doctor appointments and church without notice, cover other’s shifts, create an activity schedule every month (apple and pumpkin picking, make holiday decorations, craft night, etc.), paint and touch up walls, scrub floors, and personalize individual rooms with the individual.
“I put my whole heart into this place,” she said. “When I was nine I started helping my grandmother a lot, she has Alzheimer’s. And my grandfather is in a wheelchair. So when I came to this job, I just jumped in. There’s a training process, but it all came natural to me. I just knew what to do.”
“When the president of the agency called me, I thought I was in trouble,” she said laughing. “Instead he told me I was employee of the year.”
Despite receiving one of the highest accolades an employee can receive at the Agency, Rachel insisted that she had no plans to advance. “When you move up, you spend less time with the individuals. I’d rather spend more time with them. That’s where the joy comes from.”
