Staff Answers: What surprised you the most working at Hillcrest? | 2024

It’s easy to start work at Hillcrest with preconceived notions about what the job entails. New staff might imagine the difficult days and assume that’s every day. Or they might not realize that although our students have unique challenges, at the end of the day, they’re kids. Most of our staff have found some element of the work surprising and today

Today we hear from staff on what surprised them the most working for Hillcrest.

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Cheryl Richards Director of Corporate Culture and Workforce Inclusion

“I wanted to only be here two years. So I think I was surprised by the organization itself and what they do to help or promote the advancement of staff. The time they take to invest in people for their professional development. I just haven’t seen the level of support that you get here elsewhere. I wouldn’t have gone back to school to obtain my bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees if it wasn’t for the support and encouragement from Hillcrest. I didn’t see it in myself, but they saw it and [said] this is what you should do because you’d be great at it. If it wasn’t for Hillcrest, I wouldn’t have gone back to school.”

Read Cheryl’s full interview here.

Jolene Soules, Activities Assistant at Highpoint

“Honestly, what surprised me the most was the relationships that I built with the students and staff. You’re working day in and day out with the students and your coworkers. I just didn’t think that the relationships would be this strong or influential.”

Read Jolene’s full interview here.

Cindy Konrad, Special Education Teacher at Brookside ITU

“What surprised me most is how positive [the environment] is overall. When we gather, we just have a lot of fun. I was surprised at how much fun it could be for both me and the students. There are surprises every moment, but it’s a really supportive workplace. And I guess just how much of that I’ve taken into my personal life. I’ve been able to be more appreciative of everything.

You see what’s important and it lets you see what’s not so important. I feel more balanced. You get a real sense of what’s important and to let other things go. The day is never going to go the way you think it’s going to go. Some days are better, some days it’s harder. But you know, at the end of the day, if everyone is safe and feeling pretty good about themselves, that’s good.”

Read Cindy’s full interview here.

Michael Kirchner, Residential Program Director at Hillcrest Center

“Nothing really surprised me about my new job, this is my twelfth year in campus administration. But when I think back to day one, for me it’s just the intensive level of care that the kids here at Hillcrest need. When you’re fresh out of school and have never had a job working with kids this intense, to come in an environment where we treat the absolute hardest to place kids…it’s very eye-opening and it can be overwhelming at times. It quickly becomes part of your life, part of what you do, part of what you try to fix. It does get easier as time goes on, and I feel like I am pretty good at slowing the game down when things get chaotic, and that is what I preach to the people under me when decisions need to be made.”

Read Michael’s full interview here.

Jackie Mercado, Admissions Coordinator

“I think it was just reality…what you don’t hear on TV, you know. We hear in the media about child abuse and stuff like that, but I think it made it even more real for me when I began reading a lot of these cases. There is just so much more going on behind the scenes that we’re not aware of when we hear the news. I didn’t realize… I wasn’t aware of the severity and the level of trauma our children have had to deal with.”

Read Jackie’s full interview here.

Denise Roller, Housekeeper at Brookside ITU

“Well, that’s a good question. What surprised me? Um, just what this organization does for these kids. Like at Christmas time, they have all their [Holiday Wish] gifts, and they have their Easter baskets, and they have their picnics. Just seeing what Hillcrest does for these kids is just, it’s phenomenal.”

Read Denise’s full interview here.

Lindsey Gaylord, Senior HR Specialist

“I would say what surprised me was when I realized how aware executives are of the day-to-day stuff that goes on on campus, and of our employees and their lives. What challenges they might be facing, [their new] promotion, or what they’re interested in. Oftentimes, Chris or Shaun will come down here and talk to me about a staff that is doing something really great, or might need some support. And it’s just always surprised me how involved they are, and how much they really do care about everybody that works here. I feel like it’s very unique to Hillcrest.”

Read Lindsey’s full interview here.

Ashley Kellogg, Former Program Director at Highpoint, Current Director of Student Services

“Before I was a program director, I was a clinician. And initially, I viewed myself going down that path. I was a clinical supervisor at the ITU and then here for a little bit of time. I think I surprised myself when I thought the [program director position] may be the path I wanted to go down, because I was really committed to being a therapist. But it looked like it was a really exciting job. It’s nice to have my hand in a lot of different things and be able to make an impact in a bunch of different areas. I get to collaborate with a lot of smart people. I work really closely with the department heads. I was initially surprised by how much I enjoyed it but really do love this job.”

Read Ashley’s full interview here.