Victoria is the service coordinator at the LaBelle Tower Co-op in Highland Park, Michigan. She joined the Hannan team in November, 2012. She did not take the traditional route to becoming a service coordinator. She attended the University of Michigan for her bachelor of music in violin performance and completed her Michigan teaching certificate for grades K-12 at Madonna University. Victoria taught public school music and has been a performer for over 30 years. If you are a fan of Country Western music you might have already heard Victoria play, as she worked in Nashville’s recording studios for several years and has recorded with Reba McIntyre, Alabama, Chet Atkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. Victoria continues to perform with the Michigan Opera Orchestra. She is also the conductor for the Detroit Metropolitan String Orchestra, a group of talented young musicians, aged nine to fourteen.
Victoria decided to become a social worker because she saw the need for services in the community when she was a teacher. Being a music teacher taught her how to accommodate to the needs of others. As a music teacher, she encountered students with different learning capabilities and styles, some with physical and mental challenges, and different levels of skills levels but all part of the same team. Her teaching experience shaped her to be able to work with a variety of challenges.
Victoria started to get involved with older adults after being the caregiver of her parents. She gained an understanding of how hard it is to care for parents and the resources that are lacking within our society for end of life care. Even though it was difficult caring for both her parents at the same time, it was also a very enlightening experience. After her parents passed, Victoria became a volunteer with Hospice of Michigan. She felt it was important to give back what Hospice had given to her and her parents and she found caring for individuals, in end of life stage, very rewarding. Volunteering with Hospice reinforced Victoria’s desire to be a social worker. Victoria believes that the profession of social work will allow her to continue to contribute to society no matter what stage of life she is in. Victoria loves her job as a Service Coordinator and has an appreciation for the resiliency of her members at LaBelle.
Victoria received her Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California. She was in the first virtual master of social work program at the school. The 18 month Virtual Academic Center program was open to students from all over the world. She was one of 150 people chosen for the first cohort, which is an amazing accomplishment. During her time in school she interned at local agencies in Michigan, the Community Housing Network, Spectrum Human Services and Operation ABLE, which is how she became familiar with the Hannan Foundation. Victoria wanted to work for Hannan because she liked the idea of seniors living in a Co-op and having the autonomy to make decisions about their environment.
In her free time she enjoys making anything with her hands– especially rock houses for her garden—home decorating, and reading. Her favorite author is Steven King; she loves almost anything he writes. She also enjoys watching movies and her favorite TV series is Mad Men.
Victoria believes in lifelong learning for all age groups, she aspires to going back to school and attaining her PhD in gerontology, with research interest in Alzheimer and dementia. In addition, she would like to advocate for seniors on a political level, and perhaps one day run for a political office of some sort.
Written by Aleia Mays, MSW
