For recent 草莓社区 graduate Mandi Stoll, the past several weeks since ending her semester at the (WCSC) and walking in commencement ceremonies have been a 鈥渄ifferent kind of busy.鈥� Instead of looking for a job and worrying about where to go next, Stoll, with her newly earned degree in , is planning a move back to Washington D.C. to begin a full-time job at the same place where she spent her spring semester.
That means she鈥檚 soon be reunited with the new friend, Eileen Schofield, who helped to change the direction of Stoll鈥檚 life.
Eileen lives at , an organization that builds 鈥渋nclusive communities of faith and friendship where people with and without intellectual disabilities share life together,鈥� according to their website. L鈥橝rche聽(pronounced larsh) has 18 communities in the United States, and more than 140 communities in 40 countries.
At L鈥橝rche, Eileen and other 鈥渃ore members鈥� live, work, and interact in an integrated community. An outgoing and warm person, Eileen 鈥渉as the ability to make newcomers feel as if they belong,鈥� according to Bethany Keener, director of communications and development.
If it were not for Eileen, Mandi might not have taken the position at L鈥橝rche. Last November, when she visited L鈥橝rche for an interview, she nervously joined the members for dinner. After eating, the group broke out in song 鈥� a full-hearted and full-throated rendition of the Beatles鈥� 鈥淚 Want to Hold Your Hand.鈥�
Mandi remembers looking across the table and watching Eileen belt out the lyrics with a smile on her face.
At that moment, she said to herself, 鈥淵es, this is where I want to be.鈥�
Soon the two were posing for selfies while cooking dinner and chatting away like old friends. Then there were walks through the Adams-Morgan neighborhood, which gave Mandi a new appreciation for the joy of finding small treasures.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檒l ever find another penny on the ground and not think聽 of her and the delighted smile that crosses her face when she finds a penny waiting for her,鈥� Mandi says.
During her internship, Mandi spent half of her week at the Euclid聽 House 鈥� one of the L鈥橝rche communal homes 鈥� and the other half聽 at the L鈥橝rche office working in development. Keener, her supervisor, assigned tasks that helped her explore her natural gifts, which turned out to be in grant writing and advocacy.
But at Euclid House, she enjoyed sharing daily chores, mostly cleaning and cooking, with core members, who quickly, like Eileen, became friends.
The relationships that develop between co-workers, and between core members, are more important than official job titles and a hierarchical structure, Mandi says, adding that L鈥橝rche is 鈥渁 community of equals, not employees and residents.鈥�
From penny-seeking to singing out loud, Mandi 鈥渆mbraced the L鈥橝rche community fully,鈥� said , WCSC’s associate director of program administration. 鈥淗er internship called for a high degree of commitment to their model of community, and she definitely did that.鈥�
Having that experience and then being invited to become a full-time member of the community is significant, Mandi says. 鈥淏eing offered this position has much more meaning than if I had found a job elsewhere because L’Arche is saying 鈥榃e’ve seen your work, you are a good fit with us and you’re doing a good job鈥� rather than 鈥榃e think you might fit here, let’s see how it goes.鈥�”
The job offer is a 鈥渟trong affirmation of my positive experience this past semester and gives me confidence that my desire to stay with L’Arche makes sense beyond me, to the community as a whole.鈥�
It surely makes sense to Eileen, too.
Way to go, Mandi!