When It Doesn’t Feel Like Work

Elizabeth Corder didn’t begin her career with Parents as Teachers, but nine years in, this is where she wants to stay.

“I plan on doing this forever,” she said.

In her near-decade serving children and families in the mountains of West Virginia, Elizabeth has forged relationships that she doesn’t take for granted.

“I love connecting with people. I love getting to hear people’s stories. I love being invited in to share their family,” she said. “That’s so humbling.”

Elizabeth has the joy of witnessing family transformation – she supports caregivers as they discover unrecognized strengths and potential. But despite the innumerable stories she could tell, when she sat down in the Storytelling Lounge to share her experiences with Parents as Teachers, it was her own transformation that she’d come to express.

When Parents as Teachers launched in her town, Elizabeth was working in education. The schedule fit well for her family, but something wasn’t quite right.

“It didn’t give me that feeling inside,” she said.

Someone suggested the home visiting program, and though she was hesitant – “it almost sounded too good to be true” – she decided to give it a try.

The gamble paid off.

“It has taught me so many things about myself,” she said. “I have grown professionally, personally. My parenting is better. My interactions with the world [are] better.”

And the values of Parents as Teachers align with Elizabeth’s philosophy in a way that makes her role feel uniquely freeing.

“It doesn’t even feel like work,” she insisted.

In recent years, Elizabeth has walked through challenging situations in her personal life. Through those experiences, too, she found significance in her connections with Parents as Teachers – both as she focused on uplifting others and as she received care from her team.

“This job was such an anchor in the storm,” she said.

Through all the years, she provided strong support for families as they grew to believe in themselves.

“I could tell you so many stories from the field,” she said, “of seeing people become uplifted, and the confidence in their parenting, and the confidence in themselves is a beautiful thing to witness.”

In that transformation, too, Elizabeth’s own journey with Parents as Teachers followed a similar path.

“The confidence that I have now is not the confidence that I came in with nine years ago,” she said.

And with many years on the horizon, the future, too, holds promise for more.