Teammates

Photo by Andrew Neel  on Unsplash

A few months ago, I had a revelation: if I wanted to make this website a dynamic, engaging, resourceful hub for caregivers of all ages and stages, I needed help.

Trying to do it alone while balancing dozens of freelance clients, parenting a special needs child, hand washing dishes (old stone farmhouses, while charming, don’t often have modern conveniences like dishwashers), and all the other daily life things wasn’t working — no matter how many nights I’d stay up and work when insomnia or great ideas kept me awake. 

I had to build a professional village. I write and speak often about building a caregiving village, and it was time for me to build one so I can help more caregivers like me — without burning myself out in the process.

I set out to hire a writing intern from my own alma mater, Eastern University. When my contacts there sent four excellent candidates, choosing just one was impossible. During each interview, as they presented their unique skills and interests, I thought of other ways they could assist me besides what I had originally planned. (I actually wanted to hire all four, but one had started a graduate program that prohibited outside work!)

What I love most about these ladies — even after just a few months of being in communication — is how much of myself I see in them. Their passion for anything related to the written word. Their love for siblings, grandparents, and family. Their drive to make a difference in the world through writing. 

And so, I’m proud to have this trio of smart, savvy young women help me take this website to a new place — and I’m excited to see where our teamwork leads us. 

Meet Ruby!

Ruby Baker is a senior at Eastern University studying English Literature and Creative Writing. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Eastern University’s literary magazine, Inklings, and part of the ACT 101 student committee. She’s from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and loves her dog, Remy, and her three younger siblings dearly. She’s an avid reader of almost anything and could sit in a bookstore for hours doing just that. She’s currently working on writing and submitting fiction pieces, but has loved research and learning about new things since she was young.

Meet Eliza!

Eliza Brown is just emerging into the “real world” of literature and writing after recently graduating Eastern University with a degree in English. She ponders life through a lens of Freytag’s pyramid, and silently corrects grammar everywhere she ventures (as every true logophile does) — admittedly or not. Eliza’s sidekick and best friend just so happens to be her 96-year-old grandmother Aj, with whom she shares the best inside jokes and from whom she has inherited every last ounce of sass. Eliza believes that to have a pencil, paper, and a dash of bravery is to have the tools to make a difference in this crazy, fast-paced, infinitely lovely world God has gifted us with. Writing is a peculiar beauty, for it is quiet, but reverberates into history in a way not much else can, and Eliza strives to emulate those qualities herself.

Meet Alanna!

Alanna Woody is a senior at Eastern University, and is currently studying English with a focus in Writing. Along with this, she is a writing tutor at Eastern, while working as the Managing Editor for their literary magazine, Inklings. Alanna is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and enjoys music, poetry, watercoloring, late-night drives, and early morning coffee. She also enjoys playing guitar at coffeehouses in her spare time. Alanna is currently working as a communications intern at Intermediate Unit 13 (IU13), while writing up poems and ideas for poems on the side.