Senior Spirit sat down with two freshly-minted CSAs to chat about the experience of gaining the CSA certification in their 80s.
After months of study, this summer, Robert Clark, 85, and Richard J. Young, 81, each earned their certifications to become members of the CSA class of 2025. If you weren’t lucky enough to take the class with them (or if you were!) read on to learn about the troves of professional and personal experience that Bob and Rick bring to their roles as CSAs.
Rick, a Michigan native, worked in sales and marketing at Ford for 23 years. Then he got into the retail automobile business, working for several Ford dealers in various positions before starting a leasing business of his own. As they were nearing traditional retirement age, Rick’s late wife, whose career involved supporting the developmentally disabled community, shared with him a conviction she had: that there was something they could do with their talents and abilities that would enable them to give back and really help people.
“We wanted to give back, and that was our major driving force to go into this business,” Rick said. “We saw a real need.” As they researched the options, they decided that a CarePatrol franchise would be a great fit for them. CarePatrol helps people determine their needs and move into safe, care-appropriate and affordable care communities. The process is highly relationship-driven, and there’s no cost to the families.
“At first it was a little bit difficult for me, because I had come from an automobile sales position, and this is not a sales position,” Rick said. “This is a care position.” He strives to learn everything he possibly can about each client in order to offer them the best placement options–work he finds to be challenging but highly rewarding. “There's a great deal of self satisfaction when…I can look at a client, and say, let me take that burden off your shoulders, let me carry it for you. We’ve been doing this for 10 years, and we want to carry your issues and your problems.” Rick and his wife ran the business together until she passed away a few years ago. Today, Rick works with a stellar employee who lives in a neighboring Michigan county.
As for Bob, a native of Southern California, he started his career with a stint on a mountain rescue team and then moved into insurance sales. Bob joined Toastmasters International to strengthen his skills in sales and found that the experience helped him connect with people at every level; he’s now been an active member for over 55 years.
Bob started a career in financial planning when it was still called “coordination of assets” and built a successful practice. In the 90s, he served as an in-house analyst for an insurance litigation firm. Volunteer service has always been important to him, too; Bob was a hospice volunteer for Scripps hospital, an ombudsman for San Diego County, and a facilitator for an international men’s organization. These days, in Las Vegas, he works mostly with seniors, providing education through the Socratic method; that is, asking questions to drill down to the essence of what the person really needs.
Becoming a CSA
Bob is a consummate lifelong learner. With an eclectic home library of over 2,000 books, “There’s not too much that I'm not interested in,” he says. “I don’t have to be an expert in it, but I want to have a pretty good understanding and be able to have an intelligent conversation.” Over the course of his career, he’s earned a number of certifications, including Certified Life Coach, Certified Long-Term Care Professional, and Certified Mediator. This summer marks the second time Bob completed the CSA course: the first time was back in the early days of SCSA, and his certification lapsed around 2008.
While preparing for the CSA certification this time around, Bob committed to studying from 6:30am to 3:30pm, six days a week for three months. He also noticed something new about the course content on older adults. “When I started the CSA program,” he said, “it was like, they’re talking about me. They’re taking this information to deal with the people out there. I’m one of the people out there.”
As CSAs in their 80s, Bob and Rick are serving and advising their generational peers. Bob described the advantage this gives as the difference between sympathy, or feeling for someone, and empathy, or feeling with someone, through experience. “People in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, sometimes even 60s, are looking into a fog bank when it comes to the aging process,” Bob said. “Unless you’re actually living it, you can’t totally understand it.”
As a CarePatrol owner-operator, Rick made a commitment to the company to become a CSA. “It had been 58 years since I graduated from college, and that’s a lot of years,” he said, “when you're trying to acclimate yourself to the studying and retention.” Rick put in many hours studying for the exam; he read the books twice and took piles of notes. “There was a ton of material–good material, I found out, well written articles by professionals in each area–but it took a lot.” He created a space in his home where he would be comfortable studying for hours, surrounded by pictures of his wife and family. “It took me a great deal of time and discipline, perseverance.”
Rick hesitated to schedule a date for the test. When he finally walked into the exam room this past June, he noticed immediately that there was no one else his age taking the test. In that moment, he only felt more motivated to prove that he could pass–and he did. “It was the greatest high for me. Some people couldn’t believe that I did it at my age. I guess I learned, too, that you’re never too old to learn. If you keep your mind active, I firmly believe, it actually improves not only your lifestyle, but it improves your longevity.”
Both men would recommend the CSA course to others. “It’s a very comprehensive course, and it will expand your mind and your thinking and broaden your awareness about life’s daily challenges for seniors,” said Bob, who emphasized that rather than making you an expert, the course heightens awareness. “It gives you a kind of understanding so you can learn to identify problem situations, and then you bring in the experts.” Bob cited the Leaders Network as an example of how CSAs leverage the expertise of fellow CSAs.
Bob distinguishes between networking and netweaving: between chasing after connections, and positioning yourself as a resource so that people come to you. With his CSA certification, he hopes he can become “a valued resource for people, not just seniors. Hopefully I can help them get through the fog bank a little bit easier.”
Still Learning
Now that they’ve passed the test and officially gained the CSA designation, both Bob and Rick are moving on to new endeavors. Bob shared that he’s preparing to embark on another certification process starting this January; he preferred not to share which one, but he expects it will take him about six months of intensive study. Ask him about his progress when you see him at the SCSA Conference in Denver this coming August.
Rick is putting his focus back into growing his business while he starts to think about a succession plan. He’s researching the process of creating a sturdy agreement that would allow his employee, Katie Rivest, to buy into the business and eventually buy him out.
By studying and earning their CSA certifications in their 80s, both Bob and Rick decided it wasn’t too late to learn to provide even more skillful support to the people they serve. “Don’t ever back away and consider yourself, once you hit your 60s or 70s or even your 80s, that your life is over,” Rick said. “There’s a whole lot of life to live.”
