Joel, a communications major, began working at The Guild to earn some extra money while in college. Joel works at a PGHS residence with Terri, a student who needs individualized attention to keep her focused on goals.

Joel says that although there really are no "typical" days at the residence, he keeps busy working with Terri on activities of daily living such as cooking, personal care and academics. When asked why he enjoys working with Terri and the other students, he says "Ilike it because it makes me feel like I'm making a difference in their lives. A year and a half ago Terri couldn't cook at all. We've been working on cooking and now she can follow a recipe pretty well."

Some days "making a difference" in a young person's life is not so easy. "My first day was scary. A couple of students were having problems that day, and I thought `What did I get myself into?' But I stuck it out until the students stopped testing `the new guy,' and then it was okay. After a month or two, I just couldn't believe how much I loved working here." He loves it so much, he has even taken students home with him for the holidays!

Joel's favorite story about working with Terri started with an accident. "At work one evening, my finger got cut pretty badly. I went to the hospital and didn't come back to finish my shift that night. When I came to the school the next day, I was told to go into Terri's classroom and see her. She had been having a bad day because she was worried about me. When I went in to see her, she ran and threw her arms around me, and gave me a big hug! Normally, Terri is not the kind of person to be concerned about the needs of others, so this was very special to me. These kind of rewards keep me coming back to work."