From Two to 22
Miss Patty, a long-time toddler teacher and former school-age coordinator at Riverview Children’s Center (RCC), likes to tell people that I spent my second birthday and my 22nd birthday in the toddler room with her. It’s true–I spent most of my life there, and my journey began shortly before I turned two.
My fondest memories as a child are from summers when we spent all day outside, exploring the world around us. Miss Patty was the summer camp coordinator and organized many enriching activities for us. Our summer camp program was run out of a pavilion at the back of our property. We would spend our days playing kickball, holding bake sales, and car washes.
We had adventures taking neighborhood walks and exploring the woods and the river. All these activities were teaching us skills and values, but they were also rooted in play and fun.
A Lifelong Connection
I have a younger brother who came through the program about five years behind me. During our time at RCC, my mom joined the board of directors, and I was able to stay connected to the program because of her role. The staff is truly an extension of our family.
My mom would often recruit my brother and I to help with events, giving us a chance to see our former caregivers and stay connected to the program.
The RCC Impact
When I was 19, my mom told me the programs needed summer camp counselors. I did a phone interview in the car while driving back home from college one weekend. I was so nervous and wasn’t sure if I was answering the questions correctly. I continued to be nervous as I went to my first week of orientation, but it was comforting to see all the familiar faces of people I had known for years. I had a blast working with the children that first summer.
It was my work at RCC that got me on the right track with my own education. Before I started working at RCC I struggled with academics, because I could never find a purpose to most of what I was learning. I spent my high school career squeezing by doing the bare minimum, and I often used work as an excuse to not be able to complete school work outside of school hours. When I graduated from high school, I started taking a variety of general education courses and did not declare a major, because I was trying to figure out what direction I wanted to go next.
After my second year of being a summer camp counselor, I started working at RCC year-round in the before-and-after-school program. It was a split shift, so I was able to get a few hours in before and after taking college classes that year. After a few months, I was offered an opportunity to join a scholarship program that would help pay for college as long as I declared Early Childhood Education as my major and continued my employment at RCC. I loved my job, so I figured it was a great opportunity, and I finally declared Early Childhood as my major.
I quickly found myself excelling in school and applying myself like never before. I was able to connect what I was learning to real-life experiences, and it made me want to learn more. After earning my associate’s degree, I started working full-time at RCC in our toddler classroom while continuing my education. This time I was able to take classes at night through Carlow University.
New Beginnings
Just when everything was falling into place, my plans got a bit derailed when my boyfriend (now husband) was transferred to Philadelphia shortly before I graduated from Carlow. I was nervous about this move and nervous to leave the comfort of RCC and find a job at another center. I began researching different options and began a quest to find another center that shared my values. I spent that entire summer interviewing with 11 different programs. I was lucky to find a wonderful center that hired me as a long-term substitute that turned into a full-time job. I gained a wealth of new experiences.
During this time, I needed to complete a certain number of post-baccalaureate credits to keep my teacher certification. I began exploring programs and trying to decide what classes to take. I was no longer taking the easy way out and taking classes to check a box. I was searching for meaningful content that would teach me new things while staying relevant to my career. The first program I pursued was to earn my autism endorsement. I found out I got into the program right after finding out I was pregnant with my first daughter. This began my journey of trying to find quality care as a parent, and unfortunately, the struggle was real.
Moving Home
Just as I was starting to give up and think I was going to have to quit working, my husband lost his job. Financially this was a scary time but for our personal lives, it was great because we were moving home! I called my mom and said, “Call Betty! We are moving home, and I need child care and a job!”
Betty, the director of RCC, has always been the queen of creating amazing plans and utilizing resources. Within the week, I had a job and secured child care when we planned to relocate. It has been eight years since returning to RCC. I have such wonderful memories as a child and a teacher, and now I get the experience of being a grateful parent, as my daughter is part of the summer camp program. I also have two younger children who are coming up behind her.
Being an early childhood educator, I have found my purpose and my community. I get to learn and grow every day. The field of early childhood education has many benefits, despite the challenges and barriers that prevent people from coming to the field. As a parent, I have been lucky enough to bring my children with me to work for nearly a decade. I get to stay connected to their day in a way that I never could if I wasn’t in the building with them.
As an educator, there are also so many of those magical “Aha” moments in the classroom that make everything worth it, like the first time a preschooler recognizes their name or the name of a classmate, the first time a toddler makes it to the potty, or the first time an infant waves goodbye to you. These moments help you appreciate the little things in life and remind you to live in the moment. Not every employer is the same, and it is important to find a company that fits you personally and professionally. Working for a program that is committed to quality and values its employees is a recipe for an amazing career.