Megan was working a full-time job she didn’t enjoy and wanted to pick up part-time hours doing something fun for a little extra income when she learned about an opening in Community Living’s Adult Recreation program. She’s worked as a Direct Support Professional in the program for a little over two years now and says “It’s probably one of the best jobs I’ve ever had.” Now, she’s found a more fulfilling day job as a paraprofessional in an elementary school, but can’t imagine giving up working in Adult Rec as her evening and weekend role. “I can’t quit,” she said. “I love being here with these guys too much.”

“It’s probably one of the best jobs I’ve ever had.”

The Adult Recreation program offers a variety of different opportunities to its members ranging from educational courses to crafts to community events. Megan says one of the perks of working in the program is getting to choose her schedule based on her availability and interests. Some of her favorites are the more active events like bowling, dart ball, and bocce ball. Megan has played competitive horseshoes for around 15 years in her free time and has even placed well in state tournaments. She was introduced to the game by her dad and wants to share her family’s love of the game with the Adult Rec members at a future event someday.

Since Megan started working in the midst of the pandemic and many of the larger Adult Rec events were moved to a virtual format or postponed, she hadn’t gotten to experience one of the famous dances. For nearly two years, members told her about how much fun they were and how much she missed them. When she signed up to work the first dance since 2019, she was excited to see what all the hype was about. “We had gone on a field trip to a pool with my summer job and I was so tired that day,” she said, but things quickly turned around. She said she had a blast seeing everyone together laughing and dancing. “It’s so fun just seeing them happy.”