Kelsey Walz – Combining School and Work to Make Her Goals a Reality

UMRC & Porter Hills Corporate Marketing Assistant Kelsey Walz has a lot to be proud of. As a recent graduate of Eastern Michigan University, she already has three years of work experience under her belt and an exciting future ahead of her. Scholarships through the UMRC Foundation’s Team Member Support Services fund helped her achieve her goals.

Kelsey was a college sophomore looking for a part-time job when she joined the Dining team as a dietary aide at Chelsea Retirement Community. “School was always my priority, then work,” says Kelsey. “UMRC was very flexible with my hours and working around my college schedule.”

The Team Member Scholarship program was another plus for Kelsey. “When I first started at EMU, a big goal of mine was to save money and not to have to take out a lot of student loans,” says Kelsey. “The scholarships were a life-saver, knowing that I had that extra financial support that allowed me to focus on schoolwork and less on money.”

In Dining, Kelsey worked throughout the CRC campus as well as at many catering events for the Marketing team. Her excellent work ethic caught the attention of Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, James Kelly.

“I remember James asked me what I was studying in college,” says Kelsey. “When I said public relations and marketing, he got excited and said ‘I’ll have to remember that!’”

Kelsey says she didn’t think much about it but, in August 2019, she got the opportunity to work on the Marketing team for UMRC & Porter Hills. “Once again, Marketing was great about working around my college schedule. I worked three days per week and went to school full-time two days a week,” says Kelsey. “It was pretty crazy, but it worked and it was important to me to be successful at both my job and my coursework.”

Her work is more “behind the scenes” now, but Kelsey says she has enjoyed getting to know the residents. “I love their honesty and sense of humor and knowing that I’m making a difference in their lives.”

You can support success stories like Kelsey’s! To learn how, contact Melissa Goodson, UMRC Foundation, at 734.433.1000 ext. 7397 or by e-mail at mgoodson@umrc.com.