Some people see a clear path to their future. Peyton Mackey is one of them.
“I plan to be the CEO of Berkshire County Arc,” she says matter-of-factly. “I have a plan.” This would include bypassing and eventually overseeing her mother, Jessica Warner, a longtime residential supervisor at BCArc.
If work ethic was the only criteria to achieve CEO, she may have a shot. With two young children at home, Mackenzie worked right through the nastiest times of COVID, even when her BCArc program had individuals who tested positive. “I had to stand up for the folks in our program,” she said. “We are their support system, they have no one else.” She added that if she did get sick, she had family – particularly her mother – who could step in for her own kids. “Turns out I worked a lot of hours every week, was a little nervous about it, but never got sick,” she said, crediting the cleaning and precautions taken by her team.
“We have a particularly strong team at the program, and our house manager is amazing,” she said of her program in Russell, naming the manager Maryellen Lassalle. With the threat of the virus decreased, the hours and staffing has returned to normal.
“When I started working here, I was not aware of how much the residents depend on us. They teach us as well – I’ve learned about patience and gratitude from them. But they need our support and that makes you feel good about the work we do here.”
