CAMPHILL PROFILES

While studying sociology at Minnesota State University, Mankato Joe set out to do field research on intentional communities for his undergraduate degree. Cooperative lifestyles fascinated him and he wanted to see models that communities were using to thrive. At the time he was also working with adults who had disabilities and he was interested in seeing new vocational models that were available to them. He found Camphill Village Minnesota satisfied all of his research interests and a lot of his personal interests. After a week of interviewing volunteers in the community, Joe decided he wanted to live at Camphill after college. He volunteered in Camphill Village Minnesota for two years and had a transformational experience.

After leaving Camphill, Joe moved to a nearby city with a cat he rescued while living in Camphill. His experiences in Camphill inspired him to seek a career that is hands-on and working closely with people. He enrolled himself in a nursing program at a nearby University and started working at the hospital. He found that he was exceptional at working with people 1 on 1 and felt his energy was best focused on helping people directly. He continued to work part-time in the village, helping out between school and his other job. Now three years later, Joe is a practicing nurse and helps patients feel comfortable and safe in the final stages of their lives. His time in the village exposed sides of himself he would have never expected and it sent him down a fulfilling career path.