Employee Spotlight

Describe a day in the life of your role at Horizons.
No day is the same! I usually come in and plan to follow my planned schedule, but things come up all the time and I have to be ready to drop what I’m doing and reprioritize. Usually things that are directly affecting the employees get priority. There’s no such thing as a “normal” day for me, which is a nature of working in an organization like this.

What do you like the most about working at Horizons?
I like the company’s size. It’s small enough that it’s very intimate. Everyone knows each other’s name and it’s easy to build a connection. Everyone has a voice here because of this.

“Everyone knows each other’s name and it’s easy to build a connection. Everyone has a voice here because of this.”

What’s a goal you hope to accomplish while at Horizons?
The reason that I’m in HR is that I like to build a better place to work. It’s impossible to have a perfect organization, but if I can at least implement a process or way of doing things that help in the long run, then I’ve done my job.

What’s something you’ve learned at Horizons that has affected you the most?
I led a training session during our all staff day, and I was able to create a program from scratch. The session was on yoga and mindfulness, and I was able to give people tools to use throughout the day to de-stress from their busy schedules. I really felt like I was in my element. People said they learned useful strategies from the presentation and one employee told me she started taking yoga classes as a result.

Favorite/most powerful moment at Horizons?
During my first week working here, we had our Horizons Hero Night, which is an employee recognition event. It was cool to see an organization treat employees to a dinner and awarding them for all their hard work. I loved seeing how we celebrate our staff by having a night dedicated specifically to them.

Why do you think people should support Horizons?
There’s a need to support the children and families we help here. While it’s not possible to help every homeless child in Massachusetts, I truly believe that our goal is a worthy one to work towards. Having such a lofty goal gives us an edge and makes our work unlimited.

What’s your favorite childhood memory?
I loved summer camp. We would go every day during the summer, and I always had so much fun. There wasn’t just one type of activity; we went to the pool and did art and crafts, but we also did karaoke and used the computers at the computer lab. I didn’t have a computer at my house, so that’s where I learned how to use one. We were really able to explore our hobbies.

What was your favorite learning activity growing up?
For me, I would write poetry a lot growing up. It was a day to deal with my feelings. It was something that I found very useful. I hadn’t really been taught how to formally write poetry; it was more of a self-taught thing.

Horizons for Homeless Children’s passionate employees embody the Horizons’ mission every day in a vast array of ways. The Horizons’ staff is uniquely specialized in several areas to serve to the needs of young homeless children and their families. To join our team, check out our career opportunities!

by Maggie Cunha, Marketing & Development Intern Published on August 26, 2017