LaDonna Fabian:
CLASS OF 1978
Pekin Community High SchoolClass of 1978
Pekin, IL
University of Missouri - EducationClass of 1990
St. louis, MO
Olivet Nazarene CollegeClass of 1982
Kankakee, IL
LaDonna's Story
Life
12/27/08
In the past year I fell in love, got married Sept. 27, sold my house, and moved to the mountains with my new husband. Dave is a wonderful man and we are incredibly happy.
I have two sons. Brad is 27 and has a master's degree in biochemistry. His ultimate goal is medical school. He lives about 100 miles away. Brent is 24 and is a free spirit. He is working on an education degree but he is on the ten year plan. Right now he is working in Colorado for the winter, after working the summer in Alaska. They are both great kids. Neither has marriage or children plans in the near future, but I think, I hope, someday they give me some grandchildren.
My faith and my church are still very important parts of my life. I'm involved with Evangelical Covenant Church and now also my husband's chuch, a southern baptist church. After more than 30 years working in children's ministries (since I was 14!), I have switched to adult ministries, particularly women's ministries, leading Bible study groups, planning retreats. I've also participated in a medical mission trip to Tanzania, East Africa.
I spend my free time knitting, quilting, traveling, and unfortunately, working on our house. If you know of a maintenance-free house, please let me know!!! We plan a big addition next summer so that means lots more work!! Camping is a favorite weekend activity, with Yellowstone National Park being one my first choice- it's less than 200 miles from home. I also love shopping- but it has to be an excellent bargain!
I still have over 2000 words!! Let's see, I drive a 2005 Toyota Prius that gets over 45 mph. No complaints about that. It is a great car, lots of space, easy to drive, comfortable. I'll probably drive this until it dies, hopefully another 15 years or more. By then maybe they will have totally electric cars readily available.
Okay, I'm sure I've bored you enough. Check the workplace info to find out about my job.
College
Olivet Nazarene University, Kankakee, IL 1978-1981
University of Missouri-St.Loius 1987-1990 BS-Ele Ed
Workplace
After graduating from University of Missouri-St. Louis in 1990 (I took a few years o...Expand for more
ff to stay home with babies) I moved to Montana. My degree is elementary education but teaching jobs were scarce in this area at the time. I did the substitute teaching bit for over 3 years before taking a job at Spring Meadow Resources working with adults with developmentally disabilities. I have been with the same company ever since and have not looked back.
I did direct care for a couple of years before becoming the supervisor of the day activity program. I did that for several years until there was an upper management position available. I oversaw the functioning of 6 group homes. Two years ago, the company created the position of Quality Assurance and Training Coordinator. It is a perfect fit for me! I use my teaching background to provide staff training to about 100 staff, and I use my attention to detail skills to ensure services are high quality. Best of all, I don't have to supervise anyone!!!!
There are lots of perks to the job. The company truly cares about it's employees. We are like one big happy family- well happy most of the time! The clients we work with make me smile just seeing them. It's about relationships- between staff, between staff and clients, between clients, and in the community.
It doesn't matter how bad I feel when I get to work, the clients brighten my day. I know I help make a difference in their lives, as they do in mine. For example, I recently worked with several clients to make baby quilts. We are having a baby boom right now and they wanted to make the quilts for their staff. They had such pride in their work! I am getting ready to take a group on a vacation to Maui. Everyone says they feel really sorry for me, it must be a tough job to go to Maui. I have done this trip twice before and I know how much work it is. I also know what a joy it is to see the fun they are having.
The down side of the job is that it is human services work, funded by the state legislature. They are not kind to us. The pay stinks!
For right now, this job fits me well. I like what I am doing, most of the time there is little stress, and I make enough to pay the bills. What more do I need?
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