Like many little girls, Jennifer Kielbasa grew up wanting to be just like her mother. But Jennifer took this desire farther than most. Her mother, Kerry Ann Kielbasa, served Granby for 25 years as director of human and senior services.
“I was born and raised in Westfield, Mass.,” Kielbasa says. “But I grew up in Granby, helping at the senior center in any way I could: serving lunch, pouring drinks, listening to people reminisce on their lives. I loved every minute of being there.”
As a teenager, Kielbasa worked five years as a counselor at Salmon Brook Summer Camp, serving as its director at age 20.
Following graduation from Westfield High School, Kielbasa earned an associate degree in human services from Holyoke Community College and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Westfield State College, always with her eye on the goal of one day working at the Granby Senior Center.
So last year when Lori Blackburn was retiring as the GSC program director, Kielbasa, employed as a case manager in Holyoke and Springfield, applied for the job. “I did everything I could to work toward this position,” she says. After several interviews and days of anxiety, she received the call of a lifetime. The job was hers, despite the stiff competition of talented, qualified candidates.
“I was ecstatic!” she says. “Lori’s shoes are big to fill, but I want to come into work with a smile on my face and make people feel welcome and happy.”
This first year has been a joy for Kielbasa, who says that every day she has met “fabulous” people and heard countless “amazing” stories. “I laugh with people every day, and that’s huge,” she says.
When she’s not busy interacting with seniors attending programs or stopping by for lunch, a class, an appointment or with a question, Kielbasa is in her office planning ahead or taking training courses to improve her already well-honed skills. Over recent months, she has taken courses in the fundamentals of gerontology and mental health first aid, a course that increased her understanding of loneliness and ways to help seniors combat it. “I have an enhanced ability now to identify people who need extra support and to provide it for them,” she explains. “Education is so valuable to me. I never want to stop learning ways in which to better understand people’s needs and to help them in any way I can.”
Asked what’s coming up this summer at the center, Kielbasa said the July/August Senior Center newsletter will be out soon, and summer programs are listed in the Discover Granby Program Guide, widely available across town and at town offices. She encourages seniors to participate in a summer trip or two, including Friday farm stand tours, a Lake Sunapee luncheon cruise or a tour of the Thimble Islands, among others. A day at the Hebron Harvest Fair is scheduled in early September. A complete list of offerings can also be found at schedulesplus/granby and at granby-ct.gov/278/senior-services
“I am working with the library to create some intergenerational programs, so look for those in the near future,” Kielbasa notes. She is also looking to collaborate on new programs with other town departments.
Have an idea? Call or stop in to share it with Kielbasa. She is open to just about anything that will put a smile on senior faces, one that will match her own grin that widens just thinking about all the new possibilities waiting to blossom under her watch. And be sure to mark your calendar for the ice cream social and Jennifer’s trivia challenge on July 26.
Jennifer Kielbasa can be reached at 860-844-5352.