A career is shaped by more than job titles and years of service. It is shaped by the people met along the way, the opportunities to grow, the lessons learned, and the feeling of being part of something meaningful.
At RiverMead, many staff members have built careers that span years, and sometimes decades. Their roles may look very different from when they first walked through the doors, but one theme remains consistent: the relationships they have built with residents and coworkers have given them reasons to stay.
For Lyndsay Humphrey, RN, Home Health Coordinator, and Sue Norton, Facilities Technician II and Lead Groundskeeper, RiverMead has become much more than a workplace. Their stories, though very different, reflect the career growth, longevity, and sense of community that can develop here.
From LNA to RN: Lyndsay Humphrey’s Journey
When Lyndsay Humphrey first came to RiverMead, she was already beginning to pursue a dream she had carried since childhood: caring for others.
Her introduction to RiverMead came while taking an American Red Cross Nursing Assistant course through her high school. Her clinical experience took place on what was then RiverMead’s nursing unit. After passing her state boards, she applied for a position and joined RiverMead as an LNA in January 2019.
What began as her first nursing position soon became the foundation for an entire career.
In 2022, Lyndsay completed an MNA course offered at RiverMead. She continued working as an MNA until January 2024, when she passed her state boards and became an LPN.
Later that year, she stepped into the role of Evening Supervisor. In February 2025, another opportunity followed when she became RiverMead’s Home Health Coordinator.
But Lyndsay wasn’t finished growing.
In May 2025, she returned to school to pursue her RN. One year later, she graduated, and in June 2026, she passed her state boards and officially became a Registered Nurse. Her education continues as she pursues her bachelor’s degree at Franklin Pierce University.
One of the most meaningful moments of her career came while she was anxiously waiting for the results of her RN boards. RiverMead Director of Nursing Jen Skelton had the opportunity to share the news with her: she had passed.
For Lyndsay, the moment represented much more than another credential.
It made her realize just how much she had grown, both personally and professionally, while building her career at RiverMead.
Throughout every stage, she credits the people around her for helping her continue forward.
“I have had the pleasure of working with amazing nurses and LNAs along the way, but I feel that the residents have helped me the most,” Lyndsay said. “From cheering me on during school, as well as my personal life, I feel it is such a blessing to care for such extraordinary individuals that have lived such extraordinary lives.”
Those relationships are also a large part of why she has stayed.
For Lyndsay, coworkers have become friends and residents have become family. One especially unexpected connection came in 2025, when she discovered that her husband’s great-great-uncle lived at RiverMead. Through that connection, she was able to help reconnect him with members of her husband’s family.
It is a memory she says she will never forget.
When asked what being part of the RiverMead community means to her, Lyndsay’s answer was simple: “Everything.”
“Truly, this is my home away from home,” she said. “I am grateful for each and every resident, and for all that RiverMead has taught me and all the more I have to learn here.”
29 Years and Counting: Sue Norton’s RiverMead Career
While Lyndsay’s story demonstrates how much a career can evolve in several years, Sue Norton’s story shows what it means to build a career over nearly three decades.
Sue has been part of RiverMead for 29 years.
She originally joined the community as the sole groundskeeper, full-time bus driver, and maintenance aide.
Today, Sue serves as a Facilities Technician II and Lead Groundskeeper. Although she has remained within Maintenance and Facilities throughout her career, her responsibilities have changed considerably.
“I don’t drive the bus anymore!” she jokes. Instead, she has picked up many different roles over the years.
For Sue, longevity at RiverMead comes down to enjoying what she does and the people she does it with.
She takes pride in helping RiverMead look its best and enjoys the relationships she has formed with residents and coworkers throughout the years.
“This has been a career, not just a job,” Sue said.
That distinction says a lot about what 29 years in one community can mean.
When Sue reflects on the people who have influenced her career, she points to supportive coworkers, management, and residents.
Some of her favorite memories are tied to RiverMead traditions and the camaraderie that came with them. She remembers when the Maintenance Department would build the lobster pit and cook lobsters for RiverMead’s annual lobsterfest, a tradition that brought staff and residents together. And after nearly three decades, what has kept Sue here?
“The residents.”
Looking back, Sue says one of the things she is most proud of is simply “still being here.”
Behind that short answer are 29 years of changing responsibilities, friendships, residents, coworkers, memories, and contributions to the RiverMead community.
Her advice to someone considering a career here is fittingly straightforward: “Try it. You might just like it!”
When asked why RiverMead after all these years, Sue’s response may say it best:
“I couldn’t think of a better place.”
Careers Built Around Community
Lyndsay and Sue began their RiverMead careers in different departments, at different stages of life, and nearly two decades apart.
One has grown from an LNA into an RN and leadership role while continuing her education. The other has spent 29 years building expertise, taking on new responsibilities, and helping care for the place RiverMead residents call home.
Yet when both are asked what has kept them here, their answers come back to the same thing: people.
Residents. Families. Coworkers. Friends.
That connection is what can turn a first job into the beginning of a career, or one year into nearly 30. At RiverMead, staff longevity is not simply measured by years of service. It can be seen in the relationships built, knowledge shared, opportunities embraced, and countless everyday moments that make a difference in the lives of residents and coworkers alike.
For some, RiverMead becomes the place where they discover what they want to do. For others, it becomes the place where they build an entire career.
And sometimes, as Lyndsay describes it, it becomes a “home away from home.”
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