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Kaelind Orton
English 1010
Chris Blankenship
Project 3 Revision

Brief Cover Letter

I first tried to fix this paper by adding some education information into the first
paragraph. After I explained the educational information I took the remaining part of the
paragraph and made it a completely new paragraph because I felt like it was going into a new
idea and needed to be separated. The next thing I did was try and put more focus into the topic of
the second paragraph (now the third). In paragraph three (now four) I made it clear where I got
my information from by listing my source which was the interview that I had. Since I mentioned
it earlier I went to the concluding paragraph and instead of introducing her for the first time I just
mentioned her again. And since having used the interview as a main topic I changed it and made
the interview more of a source. I also fixed and added things to my conclusion to make it flow
better instead of just having my paper stop. Finally I clarified more on the particular Bachelor of
Arts or Science degree that one can receive in order to qualify for this career in the fourth
paragraph (now the fifth).

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Kaelind Orton
Professor Chris Blankenship
English 1010
April 11th 2016

Career Research Paper

Senior Center Program Assistant is a job where one plans, organizes and assists in all the
minor, and major tasks wherever the facility is that one works. There are many different types of
center program assistants. The jobs and duties of the career vary slightly depending on if the
program assistant works at a senior center, or a non-facility home, or hospitals, etc. Most of the
time this job evolves around the health care profession. The required education for this job is a
Bachelor of Science or Art. This takes about four years to acquire. However the required classes
are fairly easy and enjoyable. This bachelor varies so much that there are a lot of classes that one
can take that qualifies them for this degree.
The specific center program assistant I wanted to look further into and know more about
is Senior Center Program Assistant that works at a non-living Senior Center facility. This type of
Senior Center is almost like an activity center or gym to seniors in the community that want to
either be entertained and/or get some exercise in throughout the week. In this course of work
these workers will be in charge of improving the environment around them and support, and
occasionally take over the manager and his or her job responsibilities. Some other major

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responsibilities of this career are; maintaining the weekly (or sometimes monthly) calendar or
newsletter of all the events that are happening throughout the week (or month), schedule
meetings, receive and organize data, take notes during important meetings, plan up to weekly or
monthly meals such as breakfast and lunch for the seniors, and help with any complaints or any
suggestions on how to better things for the people involved at the work place throughout the day.
There are many qualities that people can have to make this job fun and successful. Senior
center program assistants are always around people and planning events and things for their
clients to do and enjoy. Since these workers will always be around people, having good people
skills is an essential quality to possess. Trusting and having patients with those you work with
and for are just a couple of good qualities to have in order to have good people skills. Another
characteristic that can be useful to those interested in this career is good leadership and planning
skills. Since these assistants are constantly planning events and activities for their clients, being
good at coming up with fun things to do and entertaining those who attend the center is
important. Also when the manager is busy, out of town, unavailable, etc., the assistant takes over
as the manager but also needs to complete their own tasks as well. Therefore being able to multi
task will prove useful in situations like these and when multiple seniors or co-workers are in
need of extra help or assistance.
In order to know and understand more about the qualifications of some of the
characteristic values for this career I interviewed a Senior Center Program Assistant, Ms. Amy
Hackett. During the course of this interview I was given a lot of clear understanding about things
that these workers bosses would generally look for in a person interested in this job. These
values include; outstanding academic performance, being able to commit to good social changes

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that may occur. Must be highly good at motivating ones self, but also fast to respond to any
quick changes throughout the day, for example Ms. Hackett explained that if the seniors decide
they either do not want to do what has been planned or cant do it for a particular reason. Being
highly organized with very good attention to little details and being diligent and trustworthy to
finish all jobs required, even when multiple tasks are needing to get done at one time can also
prove useful. These people must be tech savvy and comfortable spending at least half of the day
on a computer, as half of the work day will be with the seniors and setting up for activities and
events and the other half will be planning and getting things done on the computer. Those who
are strong team players and have good people skills such as being good at listening and talking to
others for hours at a time, are those who find most success in this career field. Not all, but some
of these senior assistant jobs require driving to and from places to either meetings or events and
possibly working nights and weekend long shifts with overnight travel.
College requirements for this job is either a B.A. degree, a Bachelor of Arts degree, or a
B.S. degree, Bachelor of Science. This particular college degree is an under graduate course or
program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both. Bachelor of Arts or Science degree
programs usually can take up to about three to four years in school, depending on which college
one is attending and the major or minors of the individual. Since this specific degree is broad and
one can graduate with many different types of this particular degree, for this career one would
need to graduate in any of the health care colleges, such as family and human wellness, nursing,
or family studies, just to name a few. Being as this particular degree is flexible the classes vary
depending on the likes and dislikes of the individual. Some of the optional classes are; liberal
arts education refers to languages, art, history of art, music, history of music, philosophy, history,
math, psychology, and other sciences. The sciences can range from any class from biology, to

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chemistry, environmental science, and others. All class requirements range from the personal
interests of the student and the college that they are attending for the Bachelor of Arts Degree.
Extracurricular activities also come in handy in getting ahead and being successful in this career.
Some include extra college art classes such as; photography, and graphic designing. Others can
be learning different languages and getting to know more about different cultures from around
the world. Even just having experience in planning other events like camps or family reunions or
having other creativity and planning jobs are all helpful.
Although each day at the center may be different, every day would usually start around 7
am and last up to around 4 pm to closing time. If the center closes, or if it remains open, the shift
may go until around 5 to 6 pm, depending on your shift schedule and availability. A normal day
at the office would consist of making sure every senior gets their breakfast and then gets from the
first activity to the next smoothly until lunch and then back to the next activity or event planned,
making sure that everyone is happy and enjoying the activities. Occasionally fixing things, like
bettering the activities with the suggestions and opinions that will be received, fixing projectors
or other equipment may be necessary if they no longer work or function properly. Also setting up
and organizing rooms for certain activities is required. Planning activities, meals, and creating
the monthly or weekly newsletter, and going to meetings and events will be the general
requirements throughout the rest of the day on the job.
Benefits that can be received from this career include the following; health, dental and
vision insurance plans. For eligible employees, based off of the number of hours worked per
week and tenure, retirement plans such as 401K are available. Salary is also another benefit

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from this job. The salary ranges from about 42,000 to around 76,000, once again varying from
where you work and for how long you work each day.
Going back to my interview with Ms. Hackett, the information that I received throughout
this interview and researching other peoples opinions and sources about this career online, I
came to find that this job is a very satisfying career for all involved, but especially for those
whose job it actually is. Not only did Mrs. Hackett say that every day she is satisfied and feels
like she is not interested in advancing in her career because she enjoys where she is at now, other
sources have said that they are very happy with this job because of its service to others and in
entertaining and helping seniors enjoy their lives each and every day. With that being said, this is
one of the main reasons why I am interested in becoming a Senior Center Program Assistant.
Helping, serving, and making sure people, who are generally alone and depressed, happy and
feel important is an amazingly satisfying thing to do every day, so why not do it and get paid for
it? Making a difference in peoples lives is what I look for in a future career and this career does
just that.

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RESOURCES:
Hackett, Amy. Personal Interview. 11 April 2016.
Glassdoor: Glassdoor Inc., 2016.
City of Mesa: FLSA (nonexempt), 2015.