Our Talent Tribute Monthly Feature is designed to celebrate the phenomenal staff that serve our Members.
Rebecca Garcia has been a proud member of the VALLEYLIFE staff since she was first hired in 1996. Since then, she has been promoted several times before reaching her current title of DTA 6 Supervisor, which she has held for nearly 20 years. Rebeca grew up in Chihuahua, Mexico with her family, making English her second language. It was there that she developed a passion for caregiving, often caring for her brother, who has Down Syndrome. In the late 1980’s she moved to El Paso, Texas for six months before making her way to Phoenix, Arizona. Rebeca is a dedicated and passionate supervisor, often going above and beyond to ensure her Members, as well as Members outside of her DTA, are given the tools to live an enriched and dignified life.
We asked Rebeca some questions to learn more about her and her role.
1. How would you describe your ideal day at VALLEYLIFE?
I think every day is perfect just because of the Members. Every day is different, obviously, but every day is perfect on different levels because of the Members. We all have our own good and bad days and that’s part of life, but when you come to work you need to have the mentality that what we do may be different and may not seem perfect, but it’s still perfect because of the kind of job we do.
2. What has your time at VALLEYLIFE taught you over the years?
My time at VALLEYLIFE has taught me a lot of skills. You become a mother, a sister, and a doctor because you need to know when a Member is coming down with a sickness. I started with very little patience and I had to learn to manage that because it’s part of being a leader. With the Members, it’s a different story because you have to have the patience for them and be able to feel that compassion. I always tell my staff, when I hire somebody, that you have to have compassion to do this kind of job because the job is hard but you have to make it easy.
3. Can you tell us what you enjoy most about interacting with Members?
What I enjoy the most is being able to help them (the Members) have a voice. Using Mikey (a DTA 6 Member) as an example, I will never forget it took him three to four years to actually say something with his speech device that actually made sense and was what he wanted to tell us. I always put it out there to new staff that if it looks like a Member isn’t able to say anything it just means they are still learning because it’s a very long process. Being able to help them learn how to communicate has been the most wonderful experience for me.
4. What skills or qualities do you think are most important for success in your position?
I would say that you’d need to come in with compassion and passion for this field and for the Members. Having an open mind is very important as well as being willing to learn and do what is needed.
5. Lastly, what do you hope to accomplish or learn in your future at VALLEYLIFE?
My hope is that the Members continue to learn as much as possible to be independent and have a voice to speak up if they need to. I hope my staff, and whoever is here after I retire, will be good at what I was able to teach them. My goal is to leave a good example.