By Morgan Banta-Ryan
At only 21, Paola has already found her niche within BCArc. She has now worked at the Crossroads Enrichment Center for seven months, working with numerous individuals with disabilities.
Calling her experience “amazing,” she sees her co-workers and individuals she serves as family. “We all work together. Every day is a new day, and no day is predictable.”
“We don’t like to set too many limits. Instead, we want to help encourage and motivate anyone who comes through our doors.”
“Every individual has their own needs. They are all amazing in different ways and they have their own personalities and hard moments, just like everyone else.”
She admires the individuals’ capacity to give, along with other lessons of life they offer. “One individual brought me a puzzle because we had been doing one together during the program, and they discovered that I enjoyed doing puzzles,” she says.
Independence and choice are areas she has quickly learned to promote. “We don’t like to set too many limits. Instead, we want to help encourage and motivate anyone who comes through our doors.”
Paolo is currently earning her associates degree in human services with an eye on helping her community flourish.
