Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece, and welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living Magazine. Today I have Lori Schermerhorn with me. Welcome to the Get Inspired! Project.
Lori Schermerhorn: Thanks for having me.
Toni: You’re quite welcome. Take a moment and tell us a little bit about yourself.
Lori: I was born and raised in Berks County, left the area for a while, came back, and I’ve been at Vision Resource Center of Berks County now for a number of years. We work with blind and visually impaired individuals from 2 years old all the way on up, and just help them out however we can.
Toni: That sounds like a very impactful job.
Lori: It is.
Toni: Alright. Let’s go into the Project. What does inspiration mean to you?
Lori: Inspiration in my personal life means whoever and however people can help. I think it could be something small, but as long as you can make an impact on one person or multiple.
Toni: What happens when you make that impact? Is that what inspires you, or are you inspired before the impact happens?
Lori: For the most part, I think I’m inspired before it even happens. I think again, the outcome is great, but sometimes the outcome may not fully be what you expect. As long as the thought, as long as the process is there, or the thought to help and just make a difference is there, that’s what works. That’s the inspiration.
Toni: Do you know when you’re inspired?
Lori: I don’t think I know it all the time. I think sometimes it hits you later on, when you actually sit down and say, “Wow, I really did that.” Or, “Look at what can happen.” So yeah, not always.
Toni: When was the last time you were inspired?
Lori: Boy, these are hard questions. I think I’m inspired every day. I don’t know if there’s a specific time today that it’s really hit me, but I think when I have my quiet time tonight and you start thinking about what happened today, I think that’s what makes a difference.
Toni: Okay. Your inspiration and how you define inspiration is all about a feeling, a motivation that leads you to do something that is going to impact others?
Lori: Absolutely.
Toni: Okay. You may know when it’s happening. You may just knee jerk and go do something, and then be inspired by your action later, correct?
Lori: Sure. Yeah.
Toni: How do you take all of that definition and apply it to practice here in Berks County?
Lori: I think again, when I think about my job and some of the things I do, I go out and I meet with people who are dealing with a visual impairment. They may have had a job all their life, and now all of a sudden they can't do it, or they can't drive, but they’re still living in the heir home. They’re still doing things. I think every single person I go out and meet like that, they all inspire me in one way, shape, or form. I’m a mom to one son who’s 16 years old who’s learning how to drive. He inspires me. Just watching him grow and learn and do different things.
Toni: So, when you have these meetings with the patient that are having these types of challenges, how do you find yourself —what do you do to help those people along?
Lori: Every case is different. Sometimes people just need to sit and talk to someone, and I can do that. Sometimes people just want to know how they can heat up their coffee if they can't see their microwave. If I put a little mark on there that you can feel, hey, guess what? I just helped them to do something that means something to them, and it’s simple. It’s simple. It doesn’t have to be a huge thing.
Toni: Do you get to do that every day?
Lori: Pretty many.
Toni: That’s amazing. You must feel pretty darn good by the end of the day.
Lori: It’s also very sad at times, but there’s so many things that you have to look at those small things and understand how important they are.
Toni: Who in Berks County inspires you? You did mention your son.
Lori: I did. He definitely is an inspiration. I have lots of family in the area, and just the things that they do inspire me at different times, in different ways. I have family who’s in the farming community, so again, anybody that can do that and live off the land and make it work, they’re an inspiration. My board members and our committee members — anybody who’s willing to give of themselves in one way, shape, or form, it definitely makes a huge impact, and they do inspire me.
Toni: Again, it’s such a great theme doing these interviews, because inspiration defined by you is moving to impact. Those that inspire you are moving and having an impact.
Lori: Absolutely.
Toni: That’s fantastic. So, what would you like your legacy to be?
Lori: That I made a difference. I think again it may not touch everybody, but whoever I can make an impact on, I want to. I want people to remember, “Oh, yeah. I know her. She did this for a family member, a friend, anyone. She’s Kyle’s mom.” Those are all things that are very important, and that’s how I’d love to be remembered.
Toni: As I say many, many times in these interviews, people don’t realize that the legacy question is not so much what happens or they think of you afterwards, but it’s, are you living your legacy now? Based on this interview, I would say that you are.
Lori: Yeah. I think I am.
Toni: Yeah. Way to go. Thanks for showing up for the Project.
Lori: Thank you very much.
