Name: Carrie Trudeau
Hometown: Marshfield
Major: Social work
Position: Transitional care unit worker for Cerenity Care Center
Carrie Trudeau has the coronavirus pandemic to thank for a having new career even before she graduates from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on May 4.
When Carrie arrived at UWRF, she was a physics major and wanted to work in engineering. Then, during the pandemic, she learned that an assisted living center in her hometown of Marshfield was short of employees. She was hired there and worked to get needed care for residents.
“I saw the struggles that residents and their families experienced dealing with health care providers,” Carrie said. “That work lit a passion in me to want to work on behalf of elderly people, to do what I can to help them.”
Carrie was so motivated by her experience that she decided to change her major to social work. She felt that she could help more people directly by working as a social worker, she said. She credits her family with supporting her shift to a different major.
“They heard my frustrations with what I saw when I was doing direct patient care,” she said, “and they saw the passion I had for elderly people and how much I want to help them.”
Carrie’s commitment to caring for the elderly led to her being offered a job before she graduates. She was recently hired as a transitional care unit worker at Cerenity Care Center in White Bear Lake, Minn., the facility where she did her field placement for nine months prior to landing a job there. Her work involves ensuring that patients leaving Cerenity after experiencing significant health events have a safe home to return to.
“I am so grateful for this job because the work I am doing is really important,” she said. “It makes a big difference in the lives of my clients and their families.”
During Carrie’s field placement at Cerenity, she worked hard to prove herself and was willing to do extra training to learn new skills. She learned how to do multiple jobs and filled in gaps during a period of high employee turnover. That willingness to do whatever was necessary led to her job offer, Carrie said.
“I was proactive and willing to take the leap to continue learning more, and that really impressed the people I worked with,” she said.
Carrie praised her classes at UWRF, saying the social work curriculum and instructors prepared her well for the real-life situations she has encountered in the workplace. The Social Work Department is tight-knit, she said, and the faculty works well to recognize students’ strengths and build on areas that need improvement. Social Work Field Placement Coordinator Courtney Wells was especially helpful, Carrie said, and relates her social work and medical background to students in a way that prepares them for working in the field.
Working with elderly patients and their families can be challenging at times, Carrie said. But those difficulties are offset by the joy of building personal relationships with patients, she said, and knowing that she is making a positive difference in their lives. She said she enjoys the job’s rapid pace and fast-changing situations.
When she ponders her future, Carrie sees herself remaining in the social work field and continuing to work with elderly patients. For now, she is excited to continue to help that population, one person at a time.
“My job is all about helping people, all about making their lives the best they can be,” she said. “I feel driven to help seniors and I am grateful for the opportunity to do so.”