Laura Gilbert has always been a caring person. “Even as a kid, if there was an animal or another child younger than me, I always wanted to nurture them,” she said. “I always wanted to take away the pain, kiss the booboos, make the bad things go away.”
Now, with a career as a caregiver at nursing homes, she’s able to do what she loves, spending her days caring for elderly residents and being there for them. “Some of them don’t have family that come to see them,” she said. “Some of them only see your face, and they are happy to see you. Getting to be that person for them is so rewarding.”
Gilbert attended Dublin Paradigm Accelerated School for her high school. She enjoyed the self-paced curriculum and service learning field trips. Her senior year she had a baby, and pushed herself hard to graduate at the same time as her classmates, in 2011.
Once she graduated, Gilbert balanced her duties as a mother with a part time job with Girling Home Health. In 2017, she took a full time job as a janitor at Stephenville High School, and put herself through school to become a Certified Nurses Aide.
Once she earned her certification in 2019, she began working as a CNA in local nursing homes. She currently works at the DeLeon Nursing Home, where she works nights.
Working the night shift can be challenging. “It’s very fast-paced,” she said. “There are 40-something [residents] and just two aides, so you have to be very quick on your feet. I have to check everybody every two hours. We have to make sure that nobody falls. We have to make sure everybody’s got water, and is dry and happy and just basically all needs and wants are met.”
Gilbert stays motivated because she enjoys spending time with the residents. “Every one of them has a slice on my heart,” she said. “I love all of them so much.”
In the future, Gilbert hopes to go back to school to become a pharmacy tech. She’s looking forward to a work schedule that will allow her to spend more time with her four children, Lee, 4, Emma, 11, Stephen, 7, and Christian, 13.
Gilbert currently lives outside of Dublin with her partner of several years, Forrest Lutz, on a family property. His mother also lives on the property. “We all just kind of hang out together out here in these wide open spaces,” Gilbert says.
She’s grateful her children get to spend time with their grandmother. “She had a stroke a year ago and we really learned to appreciate her,” Gilbert says. “We make dinner together every night and we spend time together. We make sure we spend time with her and all her needs are met and my kids love that because they see her just about every day.”
Throughout her life, Gilbert has found inspiration in her father, Stephen Gilbert, who passed away when she was 20. “He was my best friend,” she said. “I miss him terribly. I never knew I could miss anybody like that.”
Much of what Gilbert did in her life was to make her father proud. After he passed away, Gilbert had a hard time regaining her motivation. “I couldn’t do things the way I used to,” she said. “And then I thought, ‘What am I doing? I have to keep going. Just because your heart is broken doesn’t mean it stops beating.’” Through her job, Gilbert is no stranger to the pain of losing a loved one. A lot of her work involves being there for families as their elderly relatives pass away. “Being in those situations, being there for someone in their last moments and feeling them go, and still being able to come to work the next day with a smile on your face — it takes a lot,” she said.
“I’m so lucky to have them because at the end of the day, I learn what’s important,” she said. “You take your family for granted, but when you have somebody on their deathbed and hold their hands when they leave, [it puts things into perspective]. Me and my partner don’t always get along but after a day like that I come home and I hug his neck, because I cannot imagine losing him. I come home and I hug my kids because I can’t imagine losing them. Even though they make a lot of messes and laundry for me. It makes you appreciate people more.”
Gilbert’s advice to Dublin graduates is to remember that there is enough time in life to accomplish their goals. “There is time for everything,” she said. “I was a mom for ten years after I graduated high school, and I still went to school and was able to [achieve] my dreams. It’s not too late, ever.”
“You don’t have to go to college right away. Just keep your head down [and work]. There’s plenty of time for everything in life. Slow down, don’t try to grow up too fast. Just sit back and enjoy the positive things.”
Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@ dublincitizen. com.