It’s never too late to follow one’s dreams, something that Kathy Pedigo, former Manager at Embrace Living Communities’ Immanuel Residences, realized after just over twenty years of working with the organization. Now, she has retired to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a flight attendant.
Pedigo was originally hired as the Social Service Coordinator for Embrace Living’s Castle Towers and Greencastle of Elmhurst locations, where she helped link residents to the resources they needed to have the best possible experience at the properties. “People really see you as a helper [in that role]. They are benefitting from the resources you’re giving them, so I felt really appreciated.”
On Valentine’s Day in 2005, she moved to Immanuel Residences as manager after wanting to make a move to the administrative side of the organization. Her primary responsibility was to look after the overall running of the building. She was involved in everything from the physical upkeep of the building to record-keeping to leading the social services, maintenance and management teams. She took pride in bringing those teams together to meet the needs of the residents. She was community manager for 16 years.
Pedigo saw the winding down of the pandemic as a natural conclusion to her time at Embrace Living. “I felt like my leadership was needed through this really difficult time, keeping the residents and staff safe. It just naturally came where I felt I had fulfilled my role and my legacy there, and that it was a good time for me to try this other career change.”
The idea of becoming a flight attendant has been with Pedigo since high school, and she felt it was finally time to pull the trigger and apply. She loves being in front of groups and helping with the logistics of accomplishing a given task, in this case, getting to a destination. “It’s kind of like you’re a cheerleader in front of them, giving them encouragement, letting them know we’re gonna get where we’ve got to go.”
When asked what she’d miss most about her job, she didn’t hesitate to say it was the people. “I’ve developed some long-term relationships here,” explains Pedigo. “I really respect the senior leaders. I respect the other colleagues I work with. I’ve developed some lifelong friendships here, so I want to be able to stay connected to those people as I leave.”
As an avid people person, she looks forward to the new people she will get to meet in this new job, both her coworkers and the passengers she’ll be providing care for. But she most looks forward to all of the new places she’ll get to visit.
Thank you, Kathy, for your service to the residents you care for each and every day. We look forward to all the future has in store for you as a flight attendant.
