Michigan City, Indiana resident Rachel Niemi has always been devoted to the surrounding communities, having been working with non-profits in Valpo since she began her graduate school training.
Currently, Niemi is employed as the Executive Director of Dayspring Women's Center and of the Porter County Family Counseling Center. Recently, the two organizations have formed a partnership, sharing staff, which helps them to share resources and make a bigger impact in people's lives. Niemi has worked with the Counseling Center in some capacity since her graduate school training days, and became a member of the Dayspring's staff two years ago, giving her a unique perspective as these two organizations joined forces.
"I realized early on in my career that I wanted to work on creating healthy environments that would have a systematic impact of people's lives," Niemi said. "Dayspring gave me the opportunity to develop a new program from the ground up. Being a young psychologist, I felt that this was such a huge privilege and I loved the steep learning curve that existed in learning how to run a non-profit."
With the help and support of three wonderful ladies that she works with, Niemi has an easier time of dividing tasks among the little team. No longer is she responsible for every little detail at these facilities, and now has more time to devote to other areas of her job. Currently, Niemi is focused on developing new programming for Dayspring and the Counseling Center, training staff and volunteers, and supervising students.
"Every day I have the opportunity to truly help someone. I get to be a part of all of the small successes that ultimately change people's lives, and that is truly wonderful," Niemi said. "I couldn't ask for anything more from my job. It's a life-changing experience that I wouldn't trade for anything."
When she's not working, Niemi volunteers some of her spare time with various organizations in the Valpo and Michigan City areas. Though she is currently not one hundred percent taken by one organization over another, she does what she can whenever she has the time to volunteer.
"One particular experience that always comes to mind when I think of all of the volunteer work I have done over the years is the time when I worked at a soup kitchen in Minnesota for a day," Niemi said. "It really inspired me, and helped me focus on improving the programs at Dayspring."
When she's not working for Dayspring Women's Center or volunteering, Niemi loves to go swimming and boating. Recently, she has even learned how to operate their Sea Ray on Lake Michigan without any assistance. She also enjoys spending time with her husband and her two dogs as they are waiting for their first child to be born.