Nelson Buskirk loves his job as a culinary associate at Country Meadows Retirement Communities. He enjoys meeting the residents, hearing their stories, and working in the kitchen.
Nelson Buskirk enjoys getting to know residents while he works toward a culinary degree.
For nearly a year and a half, Buskirk worked at the Bethlehem campus. When an opportunity became available to go full-time, he jumped at the chance. However, he soon discovered that his new work hours clashed with his college class schedule.
“My new schedule was 10:45 am to 7:15 pm, and that was pretty much my whole day,” says Buskirk. “It didn’t fit any class schedules.”
That was a problem. As a student at Northampton Community College, Buskirk loves to cook and plans to earn a degree in Culinary Arts. He wanted to continue his job as well as his classes, so Buskirk let his supervisor know that he’d be interested in a different work schedule if it came up.
Country Meadows works hard to accommodate co-workers with unique situations such as this. And when the brand new Country Meadows of Forks in Easton campus opened in July, Employment Specialist Devon Karcher contacted Buskirk about an opportunity to work a 7 am to 2 pm shift.
It was a perfect fit.
“The new hours are great for me,” says Buskirk, who adds that he loves working at the beautiful new facility and the opportunity to meet a new family of residents. He hopes to cross-train into the kitchen.
“What’s great is that I can keep working toward my dream and still work for Country Meadows,” says Buskirk. “They care a lot about their workers; they came to me to let me know that this opportunity was available and were just great about the whole process. I’m so thankful they helped me make this change.”