Successful Teacher Continues to Learn as a Care Pro
Renee Watson is a highly esteemed educator at East Surry High School in Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, where her 26-year tenure includes the responsibilities of teacher and English department chairwoman. While Renee earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, teachers such as Renee never stop learning. In fact, she often gathers nuggets of wisdom as a Home Instead® Care Professional. “I always learn so much from my clients,” she said.
“I love all aspects of my Care Pro job, but I especially love listening to all the clients’ stories. It truly does not feel like work. For example, I learned so much about plants and flowers from my first client and have applied that knowledge to my own life. I never previously had plants because I always ‘had killed’ them, but now I am a plant person!” Renee explained.
Renee savored those horticultural tips she received from her first Home Instead client. “Ms. M. taught me a lot about flowers. I so enjoyed getting out in the yard and helping her plant flowers and learning all about hydrangeas and other plants,” Renee recalled. “We would get out, go to lunch and take walks. She became a friend. I still see her, and we still go to lunch when we can. My current clients, Ms. S. and Mr. D., tell the best stories, especially Mr. D. We cut up and have such a good time. It is such a rewarding job and it doesn’t feel at all like work.”
Renee joined Home Instead of Mount Airy in May 2024. Ten months later, in February 2025, she was honored as the franchise’s Care Pro of the Month. “Last spring,” Renee said, “I was looking for a part-time job to make a little extra money. I put my résumé on Indeed.com. When I saw the job posting, I applied for the position.”
Of all part-time job possibilities, why professional senior care? Renee recalled tender moments with a senior loved one when she was a teenager and took a private-duty job. “When I was 18, my neighbor asked me to take care of her mother, and that is how I got into home health,” Renee said. “Then, when I was 18 and 19, I worked as a CNA. I worked for Surry Friends of Seniors in home health and then went to work for Central Continuing Care. Although I am an English teacher now, I had very fond memories of my time in home health. I love helping people and knew this would be a perfect job for me.”
While Renee enjoyed her home-health jobs, she always had wanted to be a teacher. Eight years after Renee graduated from East Surry High School in 1991, she took a teaching job at her alma mater. Referring to her Care Pro job, Renee said: “I love taking care of people. As with my teaching career, I wanted to find a job where I could make a difference in people’s lives.”
Renee did just that as a family caregiver.
“I helped take care of my mother when she got sick at age 62 with lung cancer. I saw what a difference the hospice nurses and caregivers made in her life and our family’s lives,” Renee said. “Taking care of a sick loved one takes a toll on everyone involved, and the hospice workers were such a comfort and help. I want to give our Home Instead clients and their families the same comfort and support we received.”
Renee loves being a part of the Care Pro team for the award-winning North Carolina franchise owned by Van and Ann Lankford. Their office is a member of the world’s largest home-care network and the most advanced care platform. Overall, there are more than 100,000 Care Pros across 13 countries, meeting the growing needs of millions of older adults and their families worldwide. For Renee and her fellow Care Pros, touching lives impacts their souls, whether they are providing physical help such as light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders or personal care or if they are offering emotional support in a companionship role.
