“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” This is Wylene Jones’ favorite quote by Martin Luther King Jr., which represents her passion for her job extremely well. Wylene is the service coordinator at the PVM Village of Oakman Manor, where she works part-time two days a week. She has worked with PVM and this village for four years, where the seniors feel like her extended family and she believes they feel the same way about her. She stated, “It has truly been the best job I have ever had and the most fulfilling.”
Wylene has not always been a service coordinator; she attended Wayne State University and received 2 degrees, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology/ French/Psychology and a law degree, Juris Doctorate. She also attended the University of Michigan where she received her Master’s in Social Work. Wylene is a Licensed Master level social worker by the State of Michigan and a certified mental health screener for children and adults. Before becoming a PVM service coordinator, Wylene worked in the Third Judicial Circuit Court for 30 years, in every department form child abuse and neglect to delinquency. At the beginning of her career she worked with children because she felt they were “helpless”, and now she has moved to the opposite end of the spectrum working with seniors. While working in this field, she has run into the same types of issues when working with children. Wylene’s work with the senior population has really given her a “new and fresh” perspective on life, as she is also aging. She tries to live the way she wants the seniors to live—to live the best life possible for as long as possible. Wylene is a huge advocate of healthy lifestyle choices, which she promotes at her village through different health workshops and programs. These events consist of morning walks, trips to the museum, symphony and other cultural and wellness activities.
When Wylene is not working at her PVM village, she enjoys playing the piano, studying French language and culture, volunteering with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, reading, and being a member of the Alliance Francaise of Grosse Pointe.
Wylene believes in lifelong learning for all age groups, she aspires to go back to school and attain her PhD in Education. She wants to write education materials to inspire minority students to do better in school. Her first love was to be a teacher, and she has not steered away form that love, she loves working with interns because she is able to be a teacher to them. Wylene is very invested in the lives of her interns, and remains in contact with them once they leave her supervision. Wylene has a loving and pure spirit that can be seen through her interactions with her staff and residents. Wylene learns from everyone she comes in contact with.
Wylene is inspired by her oldest resident at the village, who is 97 years old, Wylene says, “she is simiply magnificent, and has a positive attitude about life. She sees the glass as half full, not half empty.” This is what Wylene aspires to be, a person who always looks at life as half full.