September is Direct Support Professional Month at Venture Together, and we’re celebrating all the amazing staff who keep us running!
Noreen Pforte remembers her job interview at Venture Together’s Murphy House some 35 years ago – she was attending St. Thomas Aquinas College, and went with friends who had heard Venture was hiring. During the interview, one of the residents, Patty, came in looking for her slipper. The supervisor running the interview – ever busy – asked Noreen to help. She followed Patty around the house, searching for the missing slipper. Patty found her slipper, and Noreen found a career.
Noreen spent ten years at Murphy House, finishing her degree in Special Education, marrying, and eventually starting a family. She then transferred to Gilleece House, where she has worked ever since. She’s grateful for the flexibility working for Venture Together offers. As her life and family circumstances have changed, she’s been able to adjust her schedule accordingly.
She says working at Venture is like being with family. “You get attached,” she said, “When I come [to Gilleece House], there’s never a day that they aren’t happy to see me.”
Noreen is fully dedicated to the people she supports and enjoys the varied tasks and daily challenges the work brings. She says that like with any family or friends, you have to learn everyone’s personalities, and what works for each individual.
“You [come to work] for the residents, and you’re going to wear, like, 20 hats. You may have messy days, you may have moody days, but overall, it’s just full of a lot of humor. We laugh and kid all the time,” she said, “You’re here to help them enjoy their lives.”
Venture Together thanks Noreen for 35 years of dedication and love.
