Ezekiel Huerta

After nine years of caregiving for my elderly grandparents, I started working at the Cascades of Tucson retirement/assisted living community in 2020 during the COVID lockdowns. While circumstances may have guided me into that position, I'm grateful that they did. I saw the job as an opportunity for personal growth, rising to meet the challenges of a then-understaffed industry.

In my time as a caregiver, I learned vigilance, assessing people for injuries and their environments for potential hazards. I learned time management, often having to schedule my day to complete the variety of tasks residents required of me. I had to become adaptable to the ever-changing needs and population around me. I learned accurate record-keeping, as I charted my work throughout the day. I offered a listening ear to people who were lonely, and comfort to people in grief.