Please join us in congratulating Kiabet Quiroz-Mejia, the September Staff on the Rise.
“Kia provides person centric, empathetic counseling.”
Kia has been a Residential Counselor at Edgewood House for a year. Kia shares that she always wanted a job where she could help people and has found that at Edgewood. “It is heartwarming when people are grateful for the help I provide. It is also important to me to be able to set an example. I come from an immigrant family from Mexico. People in my heritage rarely talk about mental health. I want to demonstrate that it is okay to ask for help.”
Ian Vonie, Edgewood House Program Director recognizes this and says, “As a residence counselor at Edgewood, this is Kia’s first foray into the field of mental health, and she very quickly demonstrated both the ability to provide person centric, empathetic counseling as well as the willingness to consistently implement the house routines and expectations that empower residents to learn and grow. She’s literally a dream employee. Kia has been an essential and highly appreciated part of the Edgewood team since her arrival last year.”
“I truly enjoying listening to the residents.”
One of the things Kia enjoys most about being a Residential Counselor is listening to the residents, “I think too many people think about what they want to say rather than listening to others. I truly enjoying listening to the residents to understand them, their diagnosis, and their histories – which helps me understand and help them with their underlying issues.”
Ian confirms this trait in Kia, “She is very detail oriented, which means she has a good handle on the progress and struggles her clients are having in service plan work and exemplifies our client centric model by striving to create service plans guided by the residents’ feedback.”
“I like to read up on the resident’s diagnosis,” Kia continues. “It helps me have a greater understanding of what they are going through and how I can help them. It also humbles me and makes me grateful for the things I have in my life.”
“Kia is naturally curious, seems to ask the “why” question in abundance,” Ian confirms. “This leads her to continue to turn over problems and issues to look at them from multiple directions, even for clients who are not on her case load, resulting in unique and insightful observations and solutions.”
“It gives me great pleasure to teach others how to clean.”
Unusual as it may be, Kia enjoys cleaning and teaching others to clean. “It gives me great pleasure to teach others how to properly clean. I like teaching the residents step-by-step how to properly clean their rooms, the bathrooms, or the kitchen. I am patient with them, even when I have to teach someone the same thing multiple times. I truly enjoy this aspect of my job.”
Again, Ian confirms this trait in Kia, “She approaches tasks with her full effort and does not shy away from hard or unpleasant work, even if I did not know the schedule, I would know when Kia works because the house sparkles after her overnight shifts. One weekend, Kia unclogged 8 toilets before Sunday – she works Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. She also did the leg work to solve the plumbing conundrums at Edgewood, which lead to client education on proper use of paper towels, and a seeming end to the toilet clogs at Edgewood.”
“Kia’s attention to detail has aided her in becoming a problem solver.”
Charting, creating service plans, writing progress notes, are other strong suits of Kia’s. She enjoys using AWARDS – the electronic health record software program RISE uses for documentation. Ian says, “Her attention to detail includes a strict adherence to deadlines and has also aided her in becoming a self-starter, and problem solver. She completes all assigned paperwork with little to no oversight or correction and is highly receptive to direction that is given.”
Kia’s educational background is in Abnormal Psychology, and she hopes to return to school to continue her education to earn a bachelor’s degree. “I am hopeful that earning a bachelor’s in psychology, or another related field like social work or human services, will help me continue to grow in my career,” she explains. In the meantime, Kia hopes to gain more experience as Residential Counselor and move into a leadership role here at RISE.
Most of Kia’s family is in Mexico, but she and her two brothers – one of whom she shares an apartment with – live in Saratoga Springs. “My parents, who have returned to Mexico, brought us here when we were children to give us a safe place to grow up. I enjoy living here and I hope to eventually be able to visit my family in Mexico.”
RISE administration appreciates all that Kia does for the individuals we serve at Edgewood House. She is highly motivated, compassionate, and dedicated – all the qualities of a Staff on the Rise. We look forward to watching her grow in her career.
Please join us in congratulating her as our September Staff on the Rise.