Kristen Edson, Sales Coordinator, Pillars of Prospect Park, Minneapolis
Fate Is A Funny Thing
Kristen knew social work was her track when she started college at Morehead State University. And serving children was her goal. Then when internship time came around a professor informed Kristen of a paid internship!
However, the internship was with seniors. The opportunity was with the non-profit organization Fargo Senior Commission. Kristen worked on outreach and helping seniors identify needs and connect with needed services like meals on wheels along with other supports.
It turned out that she found serving seniors was very rewarding. And with that her course shifted. She performed so well that her next step was being hired by the commission to develop meals on wheels services across rural North Dakota. Kristen loved the work for a year and a half.
Migrating To Minneapolis
Having grown up in Aberdeen South Dakota and then studying and working in Fargo North Dakota Kristen was keen on eventually relocating to Minneapolis. And so, after a brief stint in Madison Wisconsin, she found her next opportunity in the Twin Cities. West St. Paul to be exact.
Social Work By Any Other Name Is Still Service
In 1994 Kristen was hired by Walker Methodist Westwood Ridge as the Resident Services Coordinator. While the title wasn’t social work, the tasks were that of social work.
Kristen’s skills were spot on for the new job. She helped new residents have a smooth experience getting started in the community. That included being and developing ambassadors. They welcomed new residents and helped them get acclimated to the new surroundings, people, procedures and places around the community.
Kristen individually met with residents to assess and evaluate their needs. Then she worked to connect them with the various services to meet those needs. She loved it! Keep in mind she not only performed these duties without the internet in 1994, there were also no computers let alone email or printers!
Segueing To Sales
If you’ve met Kristen with her bright smile and warm energetic manner it won’t surprise you to hear that she didn’t make it through year two before she was asked to take on the marketing duties.
Again, no internet, computer, email etc. Just a card table in those days. Literally. Nonetheless she excelled. Kristen laughed as she said “we hosted a lot of church luncheons at Walker Westwood in those years.”
Saint Paul Calling
In 2013 after 19 years in West St. Paul with Walker an opportunity appeared in Saint Paul with Stuart Co. at The Alton memory care community. It was a great opportunity and she worked with some good folks there, residents and staff alike.
Like so many in 2020 The Alton was wondering what Covid19 was going to do. So, after 7 years there Kristen took the opportunity to entertain other offers.
All Roads Lead to Minneapolis
At the time Pillars of Prospect Park was starting up and she was approached for the marketing role. She was thrilled to step up to open a new community and with a leading company. Naturally a little vacation in between jobs made sense. Florida was a great getaway, until the whole world shut down over Covid19.
“I’d left my old job but wondered if I still had a new job with a community that hadn’t even opened yet!” She added that she was quickly assured that the new job was solid. Meanwhile the old job called to ask if she wanted to return. “That was a wild time.” Kristen laughed.
Prospect Park Provides
Kristen genuinely enthused in describing her role as Sales Coordinator at The Pillars of Prospect Park in Minneapolis. She shares sales tours with the sales director as well as coordinating the move ins to assure a great start for every single resident. That work includes everything from confirming the apartment is ready to offering moving resources to lining up fellow residents to welcome newcomers.
When asked about any specific success stories Kristen said generally “Turning around the ‘heals dug in’ folks and having them bloom as they settle in.” She went on to say “I love the breadth and depth of all the offerings here.”
That list of activities is second to none in the business including: a variety of life long learning programs and events, health club-quality fitness equipment and programing, myriad partnerships with departments all across the University of Minnesota, a U of M student housing program and full scale daycare both of which are deeply woven into the seniors activities, a number of arts organization affiliations, and finally a tangible ‘all are welcome’ culture toward residents, staff and visitors alike. “It is the best environment I’ve had in my career!” Kristen said.