Don’t talk ‘chick flick’ with this lady
By Kathleen Stauffer
Don’t try talking chick flicks with Crystal. “I love scary movies,” she says. “I love the rush of being scared.”
Maybe that’s why Crystal and her college friends courted trouble one day after their resident adviser left the dorm at Eastern Connecticut State University. They took all the mattresses off their beds, rolled out a tarp and dumped soap and water everywhere creating a giant slip and slide. “It was really fun, but he came back early. We all got in trouble.”
Crystal was working as a bookkeeper when someone recommended she apply for a finance job at The Arc. After a few years, the Board of Directors and then-Executive Director Susan Desrosiers created a position to capitalize on Crystal’s winning personality. Today, she is Director of Development for The Arc Eastern Connecticut.
“I was scared,” Crystal says. “Change in general is scary. But it ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Crystal loves her job – and people. “I have some really good friendships,” she says. “And every day, the people we support make me laugh. About six people come by to say ‘Hi’ and ‘Bye’ every day. It touches my heart. Even when I’m having a bad day, it makes me smile. Working with the community, working with the people we support – it means the world to me.”
“If you see people we serve out in the community, talk to them. You can learn a great deal. Most people just want you to talk and laugh with them, and the people we support are no different. The people we serve have hearts of gold.”
“I love to hear people’s stories. We can learn from each other. The positive energy we can give each other can make someone’s day.”
Not that the slip and slide made her RA’s day all those years ago. “We all got in trouble and had to clean it up,” she said, laughing. “But we didn’t get written up.”
Maybe the RA had a heart of gold, as well. They still laugh about that slip and slide. Crystal sees the guy often. He married her best friend.
Kathleen Stauffer is chief executive officer of The Arc Eastern Connecticut. For information on The Arc, go to www.thearcnlc.org and www.qvarc.org. For more articles by this author visit www.kathleenstauffer.com
