Access employee retires after 26 years

Love and family were at the center of a 25-plus year career that started out of a need for a job for Virginia Shatzer.

Shatzer last Thursday celebrated her retirement from Access, Inc. in Hampton, where she has worked for the last 26 years as a member of the support staff. She said she first came to Access out of necessity after losing her previous job.

“I had a friend who was the director at the time and she talked me into coming in just to see if I liked it,” Shatzer said.

Shatzer said before her career began, she knew of Access’ mission through her younger brother, who had Down’s Syndrome. Through her experiences with him, Shatzer said she developed a knowledge and compassion for working with people with mental disabilities, which in turn, helped her adjust to the job itself.

“I’ve always been a caregiver in some fashion and being able to take what I knew from taking care of my brother and put it towards something I could make a living at just made you say, ‘Wow,’” she said.

She admits she had no expectations that the job would turn into a 26 year career and that it was a difficult adjustment at first, but as she grew in her experience, she also gained a love of those she took care of and her coworkers.

“It was a very demanding job and I didn’t know if I was going to cut it, quite honestly,” she said. “I’m pretty pleased with how things went. I met so many cool people and coworkers and the members that I served.”

Shatzer said her career didn’t come without ups and downs and even heartbreak after losing a client with whom she’d grown close. But the joy she experienced every day through helping someone, she said, made the difficult and sad times worth the journey.

“For the most part, it was strictly up and up,” she said. “It felt good when they got something I was trying to teach them, whether it be turning on the stove or running dryer and if I had some small part in that endeavor, I was excited.”

Shatzer said she’s sad to have to leave Access but decided to do so partly because of upcoming surgeries. After recovery, she said she plans to spend time reading, completing art projects and going on karaoke tours with her significant other.

While she’ll be retired, Shatzer said she wouldn’t trade the experiences and connections she made for anything else.

“It’s just been a real sweet ride,” she said.