Since the age of 18 Sonya wanted to work for BCArc. But it wasn’t until a few years later that she was offered an overnight position. Now, nearly four years into the job, a manager of a site who oversees eight employees, it dawned on Sonya that this is the area of work she wants to do for her life.
“I tried to leave a few years ago, but I couldn’t,” she said, laughing. “I love everything about the work here. I told my boyfriend recently that this is what I want to do — for good. I never had a feeling like that, it just came to me.”
Raised in Lenox, Sonya went from zero experience in human services to a site manager position in three years. The job now requires back-office work—managing people, maintaining training and compliance records, and other related responsibilities. “I try to keep a nice balance, because I love the direct work with the individuals in the program.”
“I told my boyfriend recently that this is what I want to do — for good. I never had a feeling like that, it just came to me.”
After raving about the staff she works with at the site, she described each of the individuals with disabilities who live there, all women, all in wheelchairs, all with very different interests which she described in detail. “They all have different skills, talents, and personalities, and I love them all. I worked at a few other programs over the years, they all have different personalities. Right now, this is the house for me.”
