Resistance and resilience are not the same thing. Mya Varner has discovered that over the course of her Concordia career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following a childhood marred by unexpected hardships, Mya grew up fast, opting to conceal her vulnerabilities and resist the negativity around her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a day and age where many millennials remained roosted into their 20s, Mya moved out on her own in her late teens. She relished those quiet moments and fortified her resolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While attending high school, Mya spent her free time working at a small caf\u00e9 in Kittanning<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere were times that honestly my whole paycheck went to the electric bill because that\u2019s what I had to do,\u201d Mya said. \u201cLiving alone really taught me valuable lessons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n On her own two feet, Mya graduated in 2012 with a CNA certification she earned from Lenape Technical School<\/a> in Ford City. Just one week after graduating, she started her career at ACMH Hospital<\/a> in Kittanning, where she remained for seven years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mya leveraged her hardened spirit to propel her into adulthood, hurdling many of the obstacles young adults often face when they begin their lives in earnest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI’ll never be one to say, oh, \u2018this is too much,\u2019 \u2018I’m so tired,\u2019 or \u2018I can’t do it.\u2019 No, like, put your head down and hustle harder,\u201d Mya said. \u201cNo one’s coming to save you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, sometimes hard things shatter more fiercely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2018, Mya, then 24, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, and a struggle ensued within her body. Due to post-partum complications, Mya developed seizures that caused delays and difficulty in her recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mya became a patient of Concordia Visiting Nurses<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe nurses I had were absolutely wonderful,\u201d Mya said. \u201cSeeing them in action sparked an interest. I thought to myself, \u2018taking care of people in their own homes would be kind of cool. \u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2018, Mya started with CVN<\/a> as a home health aide, covering patients across six different counties: Butler<\/a>, Beaver<\/a>, Mercer<\/a>, Jefferson<\/a>, Venango<\/a> and Allegheny<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like many others, Concordia leadership saw Mya\u2019s potential and felt she could push further. Concordia helped Mya through nursing school under a tuition assistance program. Mya said the support brought her to tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, gosh. The tears of joy flew,\u201d she said. \u201cOh, my goodness, just because it was finally happening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the help, nursing school was no easy feat. Most of the time, Mya worked full-time while balancing school and motherhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were times, Mya felt her resistance waning, but she never once thought about giving up. She pushed through and ultimately graduated from nursing school in February 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was a lot, but I loved every minute of it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Mya stayed focused on her parenting, studies and work, Concordia leadership stepped up for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They helped her balance her schedule and reduce the number of jobs she needed to make ends meet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Concordia leadership also helped her earn a scholarship in 2021 from the National Association for Home Care and Hospice<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mya said she\u2019s felt an immense amount of support from the leadership team throughout her Concordia journey, earning her respect and loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mya never asked for that type of support because it hadn\u2019t been available before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI never wanted to ask for things, but they came and they offered it,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019ve helped me in so many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In return for the faith placed in her, Mya has excelled in her career, often praised for going above and beyond her duties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mya was a distinguished finalist for the 2022 Stephen W. Johnson Mission Award<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe would fill the room with her persona when she arrived, taking the time to have a discussion with how mom was doing and how she felt,\u201d said one of the anonymous nominations. \u201cMom would anxiously wait for the day of her return and would often get up early awaiting her arrival.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the course of her Concordia career, Mya has changed, deploying resilience and compassion instead of resistance. She no longer struggles to oppose the negative forces around her. Instead, she shares the softer parts of her life and empathizes with patients in their most vulnerable moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI truly understand how they feel,\u201d she said. \u201cThat’s what’s made me be a better nurse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mya said she loves taking care of people in their most vulnerable moments because she remembers and appreciates what it did for her at one of the lowest moments in her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI truly I love what I do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mya\u2019s career from Concordia is far from over, but today she feels more equipped than ever to face whatever challenges she might find. She has shifted from resisting against life\u2019s challenges to embracing and adapting to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She is encouraged and emboldened by her daughter, the patients she serves and the team around her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When she works alongside her colleagues, she finds strength, encouragement and assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When she visits with patients, she finds empathy, purpose and fulfillment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When she looks into her daughter\u2019s eyes, she sees a younger version of herself\u2014one afforded the safety to be vulnerable and living in a peace she never knew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For her, Mya would do it all again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI’ll do whatever I have to,\u201d Mya said. \u201cI’ll protect her at all costs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click here to view all open careers throughout Concordia locations.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Click here to learn more about a Concordia career. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Connect with Concordia Careers on Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a> to learn more about our employee culture! <\/p>\n\n\n\n And, to learn more about Mya\u2019s perspective on her Concordia career, check out the December issue of Concordia\u2019s Faith in Caring magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check Out Other Journeys from This Past Year<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Journey Here: Amy (Sept. 2025)<\/a> Founded in 1881, Concordia Lutheran Ministries is a faith-based, CARF-accredited Aging Services Network and recipient of the inaugural Pennsylvania Department of Aging Excellence in Quality Care Award. As one of the largest nonprofit senior care providers in the country, the organization serves 50,000 people annually through in-home care and inpatient locations.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At Concordia Lutheran Ministries, we are blessed with a dedicated team of compassionate employees who help us carry out our mission of caring every day. Through our series of employee testimonials, \u201cThe Journey Here,\u201d we\u2019ll introduce you to team members, profiling their Concordia journey. The piece will be supplemented with a Q&A featured in our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2320,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[17,37,23,38,39,40,41],"class_list":["post-1635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-concordia-blog","tag-caregivers","tag-concordia-careers","tag-concordia-family","tag-elderly-care","tag-in-home-care","tag-journey-here","tag-visiting-nurses"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/concordialm.org\/rebecca-residence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/concordialm.org\/rebecca-residence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/concordialm.org\/rebecca-residence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/concordialm.org\/rebecca-residence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/concordialm.org\/rebecca-residence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1635"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/concordialm.org\/rebecca-residence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2321,"href":"https:\/\/concordialm.org\/rebecca-residence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1635\/revisions\/2321"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/concordialm.org\/rebecca-residence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/concordialm.org\/rebecca-residence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/concordialm.org\/rebecca-residence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/concordialm.org\/rebecca-residence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Mya](\"https:\/\/concordialm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/Mya-Photo-4.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nA Hardened Warrior<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Concordia Bound<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Mya](\"https:\/\/concordialm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/Mya-Photo-7.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAccepting Help<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Mya](\"https:\/\/concordialm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/Mya-Photo-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCompassionate Caregiver<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Mya](\"https:\/\/concordialm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/10\/Mya-Photo-6-1.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nResilient One<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Journey Here: Chirsty (June 2025)<\/a>
The Journey Here: Korey (March 2025)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n