Kendal at Oberlin staff welcomed their first residents in October 1993 and a handful of the “founding” staff still work at Kendal: Laurie Long (Dupee); Jon Hall: Judy Miller; Michele Tarsitano-Amato; Ramie Ybarra and Bev Zimmerman. The following year, 1994, Jill Tvaroha began working at Kendal and this month celebrates her 32nd anniversary, a tenure that spans two careers – teaching young children attending Kendal’s Care for Kids, now known as the Early Learning Center, and helping residents with fitness and wellness activities. Since 2005 Jill has been working in the Fitness Center as an instructor, specialist and now coordinator.
We asked Jill to share reflections about her three decades and two careers at Kendal, and the wisdom she has gleaned from interacting with hundreds of children and older adults.
“For my first 11 years here, I cared for young children (many of them children of employees) and ran summer camps at Kendal’s Care for Kids. I studied Montessori and Reggio Amelia in college, which emphasize learning through interdisciplinary arts. I used this philosophy in collaboration with Creative Arts Therapy to develop interdisciplinary, intergenerational programming.
“I loved bringing the children to Jameson. Each morning that they spent there was filled with fun, smiles, and laughter. Through these interactions with residents of various levels of mobility and cognition, I saw the kids develop an early empathy for those who are different, and a conscious desire to help. As I watched the children grow and create unique bonds with the residents, I noticed my passion deepening and expanding. I felt proud to be a part of a family-forward program that allowed staff to visit, have lunch, or breastfeed their children. I not only loved working with the kids, but also their families and the residents.”
When the” No Child Left Behind’ initiative changed the nature of work at Kendal’s Care for Kids, a new position opened for Jill.
“As a fitness instructor with a life built around dance, a lifelong love of movement, and boundless energy, I was excited to help residents improve their posture, mobility, and quality of life. The average day for me was composed of teaching lots of classes and working with as many people as I could in between. I was enamored with this new opportunity to make an impact on residents’ lives.
On my journey to becoming wellness coordinator, I’ve accumulated years of knowledge imparted by residents, my own experiences with classes, certifications, and ever continuing education, which Kendal has been so thoroughly supportive of.
Working with residents, I have seen first-hand that being grateful and happy, even in the face of adversity, is important to longevity, and that movement and food are important forms of medicine. While that has always been a personal philosophy for me, I learned that those needs change as you age and the residents here are such fantastic models for how that looks, in a variety of ways. Through the generations of wisdom available at Kendal and my own experiences I was taught to slow down, listen, be present, be mindful, be kind.”
This wisdom has also brought a sense of community for Jill, now 56 years old.
“There isn’t an experience that you can go through that a resident here hasn’t also experienced. That has given me comfort and peace when I have gone through tough times. I have always felt supported, cheered on, and accepted as an individual and I’ve been given great feedback and learned so much from so many.”
Along with offering an array of land and water classes and personal coaching, the wellness team hosts fitness talks and events, including intergenerational, for the Oberlin community. For about 15 years they coordinated the annual Fun Fitness Week.
“My wish and my team’s is to help as many people meet their wellness goals as possible. We love to see new resident and staff faces in the Fitness area. We like everyone to know that no matter what limitations a person may have, there is always something that we can work on together, to help empower someone to meet their goals,” she says adding, “There hasn’t been a dull moment. If we aren’t planning something, the residents are.”
When not at work, Jill can often be found helping with animal rescue, - she currently has 1 dog, 1 cat, and several rescue outdoor cats - enjoying nature, working on her century-old home or doing Reiki and energy bodywork for someone in need.
“My life is full and I am so happy and grateful. This community has taught me to do the things that feed my soul and live the life that suits me best,” Jill says.