Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece, and welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living magazine. Today I have Kimberly Kostival with me. Welcome.
Kimberly Kostival: Thank you, Toni. Glad to be here.
Toni: So, take a moment and tell us a little bit about yourself.
Kimberly: So, I’m a Berks Countian. I’ve been here all my life. I grew up in West Reading, went to Wyomissing High School, and graduated from Kutztown University. I actually have a degree as an art teacher. My background is in art. Fell in love while I was in college. Started working at a nursing home in West Reading, and fell in love with working with the geriatric population. I use my skills as my art to do art therapy with them. With that, I just kept falling in line, and worked my way through and enjoyed being with seniors. Right now, I work at Berkshire Commons Senior Living in Exeter Township. I have two children who have grown up around seniors. They have a great appreciation for them. My daughter has actually just graduated from high school, and my son graduated last year from college. I’ve been in this business for over 30 years.
Toni: Oh my gosh. That’s amazing. What a great industry to be in, too.
Kimberly: It’s a wonderful industry.
Toni: So, let’s get into the Project. What does inspiration mean to you?
Kimberly: Inspiration means to me something that gives goodness back; that you feel good about something. It’s something that if I get inspired, it gives you a sense that I need to do good for someone else. I feel that I get that a lot from my seniors. It’s a wonderful atmosphere to get that sense of goodness, and their long life, and what they’ve given to the world.
Toni: Is there a feeling that comes when you’re inspired by that sense of goodness? Do you know when it happens?
Kimberly: Of course it does. I mean, it puts a smile on your face, and you just feel — I think your body almost relaxes with that smile, and you feel good all over. It’s not just a sense of a moment; it’s something you take with you, and I think that’s what being inspired is. You take it with you, and that’s what the big key is with that.
Toni: The key is to realize that it’s happening and that you’re actually inspired.
Kimberly: Oh, absolutely.
Toni: So how great that you recognize that. So, how do you take that inspired feeling of goodness and put that into practice here in Berks County?
Kimberly: I think giving back. I love being around seniors. I love sharing their knowledge with other people. Going out and speaking in the community is a big thing for me. My teaching background helps me do that. Also, I see those light bulbs go off when I give — those experiences I’ve shared from working with seniors. One of my seniors from many years ago, it always has stuck with me, and she’s one that really inspired me over the years. She was a Navy nurse in World War II. It’s kind of nice with what’s going on in the city right now with World War II weekend.
One thing she said to me, she said, “Kim, always take care of yourself. Only you can do for yourself.” I think that kind of stuck with me. Being a woman in the world and in the field of business, I think you have to rely on yourself, and that sense of inspiration she had, she did it. She went out in the world, and when she became a nurse, she actually worked her way up the ranks. You could tell. She was a hard-nosed nurse, but she had a heart of gold, and that inspiration from her kind of set my tone through my life.
Toni: That’s fantastic. So you really, how you put that in practice as well is you listen to these seniors.
Kimberly: Absolutely.
Toni: Then, do you pay that forward? You did it with yourself, but then do you share those stories?
Kimberly: I shared my stories out in the community, but also with my children. I told you my children worked around seniors, and have a great appreciation for life in general. They were volunteers all the way through. My son as a baby, he went for baby visits. I would take him around for baby visits. But all through their lives I always said to them, “You need to learn from others, appreciate others, and take what they teach you and use it.” I think they’ve done that through their lives. Both my kids have done very well through their schooling and done very well with school and relationships.
Toni: That is an amazing way to pay that lesson forward over and over again.
Kimberly: Absolutely.
Toni: So, who in Berks County inspires you?
Kimberly: I guess I have to say the seniors I work with every day. It was interesting. My son works part-time right now at Berkshire Commons. We had a gentleman who he’s very close with. He went out to the hospital, and he came home. I wasn’t working that day. He came home and he said, “You know, I can't believe he’s gone.” He said, “He makes me feel good. He makes me feel good about myself. I love going and speaking with him.” I said, “That’s what you get. That’s your sense of inspiration. He’s your inspiration right now because he’s sharing and giving you what he’s learned to help you in your life.” It’s a nice thing. It’s a nice thing to see and hear.
Toni: It’s a beautiful thing. Are there any particular other stories that have inspired you over the years?
Kimberly: Oh my goodness. There’s so many I could be here all day. I think one of the other things that inspires me is not just life when they’re there, is when they’re gone. I have the blessing of being involved in my church as a singer as well. A lot of times, I go to the residents that pass away, to their funerals. Hearing their families speaking about them and how they’ve inspired their lives, it’s amazing. I say to myself, “That’s how I want to be remembered. I want to be remembered as someone who gave of themselves and thought of others before themselves.” Also, always with a kind heart, and I think that is so unique that you don’t see every day.
Toni: And so that feeds really well into the last question, which is, what would you like your legacy to be?
Kimberly: That would be it. A person with a kind heart, generosity, and remember that that person — we always gave of ourselves to that person.
Toni: What’s so very cool about this Project is you get to hear in little snippets stories of what you do, but also not only are you living your legacy every day — we all do — but you’re also helping to pass on the legacy of others in what they’ve taught you, how they’ve inspired you, and keeping their legacy alive. What an amazing gift you’re giving to the world.
Kimberly: I think it’s a great thing. I think it’s something that the younger generation needs to appreciate. We don’t have that nowadays. It would be something for people to kind of step in the shoes of our elders and learn and listen to them, from them. I think that’s very important.
Toni: Thank you so much for showing up to the Get Inspired! Project.
Kimberly: You’re welcome. Thank you, Toni.
