Olivia

Last February, Olivia joined Club as a practicum. She was very quiet at first, but she didn’t hesitate to jump in right away. You could find her talking with kids one on one or working at a table with members who may have needed a little extra help during High Yield Learning Activity (HYLA). Any time the staff were chatting, she was clearly soaking up all their input and would soon put the advice into practice. She also requested if she could stay later Tuesdays and join our afterhours Red Zone meetings. After some time, I checked in with Olivia to see how she was liking Club and, of course, see if she would be interested in staying and filling an open position. Olivia’s face lit up and she said “I’m loving it! I’ve never had so much fun in my entire life. I’ve already put in my two weeks at Target so I could work here!”

Olivia quickly transitioned from a practicum to a coordinating position. She has planned some amazing HYLAs that make staff want to join her group such as learning about the food chain with animal crackers, earning items for a trail mix by completing a work out and learning about music through the decades while playing musical chairs. During summer she requested to work with and mentor one of our more difficult Club members, creating an incentive plan with him to help him be successful. While summer usually tests the best of us, we really saw Olivia’s level of patience come out. After spending all week with our kids, she also showed up and played every Saturday kickball game. Whenever she is outside, Olivia can always be found running around, playing with the kids and having the time of her life.

Our team at Lockwood can always depend on Olivia to be a quiet constant, always willing to jump in wherever needed- to a fault, of course, as we usually have to tell her to take a break. She has never said a unkind word about any one of our staff and always sees the positive in everyone. Whether it’s loving the Club so much she quit her job before being guaranteed a position, dedicating time above and beyond because she supports the Club mission and the kids, setting an example for being an amazing human or remembering that ‘this one goes to eleven’ and adding fun into the day, it’s clear Olivia not only earned but is the perfect example of Love It, Live it, Give it.