From working with the Boys and Girls Club to CPS, and spending two weeks in Jamaica in college, Christopher Carter has landed himself at Siena Heights University as the new program coordinator for Student Support Services.

Originally from the state of Mississippi, Carter moved to Adrian at the age of 15.  From there he got his bachelor’s degree at Eastern Michigan University, with his main focus wanting to work with kids.  “Make a friend, find a need,” is a quote that Cater likes to use, and that has stuck by him while working at the Boys & Girls Club, and also with his time in CPS.

Explaining and reliving some of his time working with Child Protective Services in Monroe, he confesses that like most, he had thoughts and pre-judgments on what they did.  Turns out, it’s more than that.  Carter states that CPS’s first priority is to make sure the child is in the best living situation and to also help families.

Meaning whether that is to find transportation, provide food, help parents/guardians find a job, and help them take advantage of community resources.

Yes, unfortunately, he did have the experience of removing some children away from their parents/guardian, though he also had some success stories as well.  Due to that, sometimes he was allowed to take a couple days off, as it can take a toll on someone.

With the challenges that working with them entails, he said he is actually grateful for the experience, like he was when he came back from his 10-day stay in Jamaica.

In Jamaica, Carter was there with other students to teach about peer mentoring, finance, and teen pregnancy.  He told a story about a boy that he met there (who he still stays in contact with), and that he asked him the question, “So if you have all of those resources, you don’t miss class right?”

That question, and the young boys he saw at sunrise everyday go hunting to support their families, made him think about the decisions he was making as a college student. He said it made him realize that he needed to be “about his business.”

So if anyone was wondering, he did skip classes sometimes because he decided to sleep in.

After having worked in two completely different areas, Carter says those two experiences have prepared him for this job by making him understand that people come from all walks of life, and that understanding their backstory is the best way he can find a way to help them the best he can.

After all, his motto is “make a friend, find a need.”