Featured Employer: Milton Hershey School - "Diary of a Housemom"
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Posted By: How May I Help You NC on July 05, 2011 Meet Greta Stager Greta Stager is a native of Palmyra, Pa. She earned a bachelor's degree from Messiah College and a master's degree from Duquesne University. Greta and her husband Steve have extensive experience working with youth, including spending a year in Thailand, where Greta volunteered helping Tsunami victims and taught English at a university. The couple also resided the San Francisco area for two years. Five years ago, the Stagers made the life-changing decision to become houseparents at Milton Hershey School® (MHS). Today they manage the daily lives of 11 high school girls. In this blog, Greta will share some of the challenges and rewards that make a houseparenting career at Milton Hershey School truly unique. When not on the job, Greta enjoys travel, sports, outdoor activities, riding her motorcycle, spending time with family and friends, and antiquing. WILL WINTER EVER END? This is the time of year when cabin fever sets in. Our student home has caught the cabin fever "bug," and emotions have been high all around. This week was an emotional rollercoaster. As the female head of a household of teenage girls, I usually bear the brunt of their emotional turmoil. Sometimes "I'm sorry you feel that way" can take the edge off of dissatisfaction with merits, grades, consequences, or choices. However, I've learned that sometimes you have to walk away and let time take care of the frustrations. Over this past week, we worked close to five days, 'round the clock. It was Presidents Day weekend and even though a majority of the students go home for this break, student homes are still open and students are still on campus. In our home we had three students. The Justin Bieber movie was the hit of our Presidents Day Weekend vacation. I think I was more entertained by the girls and their reaction to it than the movie itself. The students who went off campus for the break returned on Tuesday. After all bags were checked (it is a requirement for HP to search and inspect each students bag and suitcases) it was back to the routine of study time and set bed times. VALENTINES & SUPER BOWL At MHS, each division has merit levels. In the Senior Division, we have four levels: novice (not in good standing), brown (average but not working to potential), gold (working to potential), and Spartan (going above and beyond for home and school). This is based on a point system; each student has the opportunity to earn 15 points a day. Each year we have a Valentine's Day party in our student home, which we used as an incentive for earning merit points. Those on "gold" were allowed to invite a date or guest to the party. The party is a dressy casual event. My mom comes and helps me decorate with cut glass, candles, chocolate fountains and strawberries, linen table clothes, centerpieces, candy, mood lighting, and lots of festive music and decorations. The students are served a three-course meal, usually Italian-themed, and are served by my family and friends who volunteer to help with the evening. Our kids had a really nice time. It was nice to meet some of our students' boyfriends. Of course, my husband had to give them the official drill, which sends the girls off giggling and a bit embarrassed, but that's what a good "dad" does. The next day was the Super Bowl - a fun-filled event in our home this year in particular since a local favorite, the Steelers, were playing. One of our parents/sponsors gave the student home a bunch of snack food, drinks, and Pizza Hut gift cards, which we used for the occasion. It is really appreciated when parents/sponsors go out of their way to do things for the student home. We have another sponsor who sends holiday candy bags. We just received a box in the mail for Valentine's Day. It makes the kids feel good, but it makes the houseparents feel good as well to know the parents/sponsors are part of our team. SNOW DAYS This week we had two snow days. Most kids get excited about a snow day, and that is no different here at MHS. However since the bad weather was caused more by ice than snow, the excitement of playing outside was a bit less appealing. Usually, even senior high girls will go to play in the snow for hours. This is great for a houseparent because we all know it tires them out...which in turn means less time to get into mischief! On the first day, after a two-hour delay called at 5:30 a.m., school was canceled at 8:00 a.m. This gave everyone a few extra winks, which is always a blessing. Around 9:30 two of my young ladies offered to cook brunch for the student home, a real treat for the housemother. I believe in teaching each and every student to cook and to be self sufficient and independent. Every two weeks I assign one of the girls to be an assistant cook who plans meals, creates the grocery list, and develops a healthy menu for the week. The girls prepared chocolate chip pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and fruit. Brunch was served around 11. It was a peaceful morning. I had a few students who were on activity restriction for some problems they caused for our quad flex couple. Being on restrictions on a snow day is especially unpleasant for the students, who. may only read, study, or draw. However the students had a good attitude throughout the day and by evening we were able to let them off restrictions and allow them to have a few freedoms that evening. All in all, it was a fun, relaxing day, but we knew another storm was brewing and many wondered if we would have school the next day. That night we received a phone call that school would start two hours late the next day. We learned quickly in our first year not to tell the kids the night before if we are have a delay or no school because it can result in late-night parties, jittery excitement, and mischief. The next morning, school was canceled. The kids actually were a bit disappointed since some had athletic games and activities after school that they were looking forward to. There was a ban on driving the student home vans until 2:00 p.m. When it was determined that it was safe to drive, Steve and I knew we had to get everyone out of the house. So, we took a trip outside to buy subs and rent a movie. The kids asked if we could eat and watch the movie together in the rec room. Normally, food is never allowed in the rec room or living room, but we asked for four people to be responsible for the cleanup of these areas. We had the volunteers and told them if anything was not taken care of they would be responsible, and they all agreed. In the end, I was impressed - not a single mess! Overall, two days of 13 people hanging out together went well. The kids got along and we had a great time. I was proud of my girls. We played lots of games, read books, colored, baked, shoveled ice/snow, watched TV and movies and had a good time. Everyone made the best out of an icy mess! More: http://www.mhs-pa.org/careers/houseparents... Join the Milton Hershey School Facebook group to stay informed: http://on.fb.me/mRJSVi If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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How May I Help You NC
Management, See Moss Interactive Bellarmine University class of 2021 Member Since January 2011 |
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