Amy Snyder: Counseling others through difficult times

Penn State has always been special to Amy Snyder. Her parents, dedicated Nittany Lions fans Carl and Nancy Myers, brought her to football games throughout her childhood even though neither of them graduated from the University. Enthralled by the culture and community, Snyder enrolled at Penn State to earn a degree in a major that would help her help others.

Snyder spent her first year at Penn State at the Mont Alto campus. She said starting her academic journey there helped prepare her for the transition to the larger University Park community, especially since she had grown up in the tiny borough of Landisburg, Pennsylvania.

During her senior year, Snyder completed an internship at Aurora Club Inc. in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a nonprofit organization that provides services for adults with mental illness and/or intellectual disabilities. When she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation services in 2001, Aurora Club offered Snyder a full-time program director/case manager position. In this role, she connected clients with community resources and helped them live life to their fullest potential.

“The work was personally rewarding, but after three years I wanted to broaden my horizons,” Snyder said.

She did just that when she joined Nipple Convalescent Home, a nursing home in Liverpool, Pennsylvania. The only social worker with a college degree, Snyder was charged with wearing many hats, including activities director and medical records specialist. She also became like family to the residents.

“Many were the last surviving members of their family,” Snyder said. “They needed to know someone cared about them before they left this world.”

In 2014, Nipple Convalescent Home closed after being purchased by a major corporation. Snyder seized the opportunity to seek a job that allows her to spend more time at home with her daughters, Madison and Leah. She is currently the Sunday school superintendent and administrative assistant at the Landisburg-Loysville Free Lutheran Church, where she embraces opportunities to support others who are facing difficult times.

“Church members who have sick or dying family members come to me, and I help them through it,” Snyder said. “Everyone needs somebody to talk to when they’re grieving.”

She and her daughters reside in Loysville.