Danielle O.

“ Although the types of jobs I have held in the past vary, they all have had one common factor. Each job involved giving of myself and investing into the lives of others. I've prided myself in being organized and efficient, cool and collected in the most strenuous of circumstances. I quickly learned all that the youth whom I served at Campus Life wanted from me was truth. They wanted me to stop with my agenda...

Although the types of jobs I have held in the past vary, they all have had one common factor. Each job involved giving of myself and investing into the lives of others. I've prided myself in being organized and efficient, cool and collected in the most strenuous of circumstances. I quickly learned all that the youth whom I served at Campus Life wanted from me was truth. They wanted me to stop with my agenda and meet them where they were at... in their schools, in the midst of partying, hardship and sometimes... joy. It was only when I decided to let go of my agenda, and be there for them. It was then that I realized what giving truly was. It was about acceptance, acceptance of people regardless of circumstances.

As a Behavioral Health Technician at the residential treatment group homes in Boystown, Nebraska, the demands of my job changed daily with the different challenges that arose. While working with youth, I found that it was critical that I learn to take the initiative, manage problematic behaviors and situations, and deescalate the situation in a timely and organized fashion. But my purpose in this position was the same. I had an overwhelming desire to let the youth I worked with, the youth that had all but been cast aside by society, know that they were not a lost cause. They were the one's whom life had dealt a hard deck of cards. They could rarely see the light amidst so much darkness.

My most recent position as a preschool teacher has been more light heart than my intense years of working with teenagers at Boystown. Similar to the teenagers at Boystown, these preschoolers have shown me that they desire, above all, to be cared for. When a little 4-year-old in my class says, "Teacher watch!" she is watching me more than I watch her. She is making sure that I am paying attention... giving her value, and helping her grow. I suppose this is why I work with children.

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