For the first time, Michaela McClymont isn’t attending a post-secondary program while working.

After earning her Social Work diploma, she set her sights on a Recreation Therapy diploma while working part-time as a recreation assistant for the Adult Day Program and the Grove’s Recreation Department.

Recently, she earned her Bachelor of Gerontology from Laurentian University while working as the Community Programs Coordinator at Arnprior Regional Health (ARH). She has now been promoted to Life Enrichment Manager, where she oversees Recreation at the Grove, the Adult Day Program, and Assisted Living Services.

Now, Micheala is focusing on leadership.

As part of the 2023 Emerging Leadings program, Michaela has been working regularly with coworkers from several different departments to build her leadership skills. She enjoys learning from people with such varied skill sets.

“We have monthly calls where we work with the program facilitator and our coworkers, and we talk through scenarios, and give each other very productive feedback on how to use the tools we are learning about to handle these scenarios. Being able to work together and learn from one another has been really beneficial.”

Collaboration and innovation

Michaela has been part of the ARH family since 2014. In her current role, she loves being able to offer programs that help older adults to live safely at home and prevent premature admission to long-term care.

“I always knew my passion was interacting with older adults. I’m very passionate about recreation, and about how beneficial programming is for older adults living in the community, especially.”

She also loves the collaborative atmosphere and innovation offered at ARH.

“I’ve met some really great coworkers through the organization in various departments, and I am very fortunate to have their support to be able to rely on each other. Under recent guidance and leadership our programs and our resources are evolving and they’re innovative. That makes for a really great atmosphere to develop in your career.”

For her, that development means expanding her leadership capacity. She focused on the educational component of her career previously, and now she relishes the ability to focus on these important soft skills.

Future plans

After graduating from the program, Michaela hopes to use her new skills to improve processes within her teams.

“I am really learning to think strategically while planning ahead. Especially when it comes to improving team performance. Because you can’t fix or improve everything in a day, so it is important to learn how to be strategic and map everything out., to really plan these changes you want to make.”

When not at work

Michaela keeps busy volunteering with Riverview Rescues: she acts as a foster parent to pups in need and has fostered 7 dogs so far. She also helps with fundraising efforts, and transporting dogs from vet appointments, foster parents, and more.

She often brings her own beautiful red lab, Kip, in for pet therapy programs – he is very popular with program clients!