Meet Our COR Family: Darby Kraus
Hey, my name is Darby! I am the Team Leader within COR Youth and have been at COR for just over 2 years! I first learned about COR while I was pursuing my Bachelor of Kinesiology at the University of Regina. Throughout my time at the university, I had the opportunity to see a few different presentations from COR in my disability studies courses, as well as listen to my professors talk very highly about the organization and the work that COR does. I knew from those experiences that working with people with disabilities was an interest of mine, but it took me a couple of years to fully figure that out after I obtained my degree. Upon completion of my degree, I worked as a Health Coach for a couple of years before realizing that my true passion was not helping people with their fitness goals, but connecting with them and building a relationship that was more meaningful than that. After some soul-searching and researching, I rediscovered COR, applied, then began my journey in 2020.
One of the best things about COR is that everything we do is rooted in building strong, healthy relationships. Whether that is with the people we support, with our team members, or with the community, everything we do is based on Gentle Teaching and that really allows for everyone to feel safe and valued in their relationships, which in turn creates an environment in which we can help support the people we serve to the best of our abilities. As a team leader, I love being able to create a safe space for my team to be vulnerable in as this helps us have more open and honest communication which I find then directly correlates to the strength of our team when supporting the youth that we support.
My proudest moment so far at COR has been around starting up a brand-new youth home with a brand-new team and seeing that team become such strong, incredible supports. I am so proud of my team for continuing to show up even when things were not always easy and constantly working at becoming stronger, more compassionate people both in the boys’ home and out of the home as well.
My advice to prospective candidates is always to be open-minded and ready to be vulnerable when it comes to building relationships with the people that we support. The key to success is being genuine and bringing the best version of yourself to the table. There will be times when things get tough and Gentle Teaching may not make sense, but don’t be afraid to ask questions and maybe sit in some discomfort to really begin to understand the beauty of Gentle Teaching.
Fun Facts about me:
If I were to choose a favourite book, I would probably have to pick “Radically Happy” because it was such a relaxing book to read and it gave me many tools to use when I am feeling stressed or overwhelmed.
My favourite quote is, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”
Some things that I enjoy doing in my free time include working out, playing with my dogs, reading, playing video games, and having coffee/connecting with my friends.
