What Will’s Place Has Meant to Me: A Note from Maliah Vera
What Wills Place Has Meant to Me
Hi everyone! My name is Maliah Vera, and up until about a week ago I worked at Wills Place. In this passage, I hope to convey everything that working there did for me, and continues to do so in my everyday life. I was 16, looking for my first job and then I found Wills Place.
When I first started, I was extremely shy and hesitant to not only talk to my coworkers, but to try out new things. That is one thing I immediately noticed was about to change. Growing up I always needed a little push to be more vocal instead of just hanging out on the side. Within my first month of working there, I had not only started to develop relationships with my coworkers, but I was starting to come out of my shell. For me, it was definitely a combination of things that led me in this direction. One extremely major and important part in this journey was getting to know Ellie and Will, whom I adore so deeply. From my first day, Ellie, Will, and everyone at Wills Place met me with such kindness and understanding that it was going to take me a little bit to warm up. Throughout my time there, my friendships with all of my coworkers continued to grow, and this also helped me become more confident in myself. I found myself starting to take initiative instead of waiting to be told to do something, and this was a big step for me considering I had struggled to do it in the past. Every single person that works at Wills Place is always looking for ways that they can help each other, and this is one major way they all helped me. I worked at Wills Place throughout my last 2 years of high school, while also being in a dual-credit program with my local college that I now attend, for my EMT license. I had finished my course, and took the national exam. A part of me knew the day would come eventually that it would be time for me to say goodbye to Wills Place and enter this new chapter of my life. This new chapter is me stepping into my role at a hospital as an Emergency Room Technician. I truly believe that everything I have learned from working at Wills Place will continue to translate in anything that I do, especially working with patients. I may not work at the restaurant anymore, but this is not a goodbye. I will always try to visit as much as I can, as the people I have grown to love are at Wills Place. As I wind down my message, I just want to say a final thank you to Ellie. Ellie has taught me so much about how real friends should be to each other, and she is the most kind and thoughtful person. Whenever I would make a breakthrough at school, she was always (and is) still the first person to always congratulate me. It is the little things that really make someone feel seen, and she never failed to do that. All in all, I have learned extremely valuable skills and life lessons from my life at Wills Place that I will continue to lean on throughout my entire life. Again, I thank everyone in the entire Wills Place organization for their contribution in shaping me to the way I am today.
With Love and Gratitude,
Maliah Vera