Two weeks ago, Robert Aberegg, a campus security officer, officially began work with Waynesburg University.Roughly a year ago, Aberegg was working as a Critical Incident Manager for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. After retiring, he spent time to himself to get back to what was meaningful to him in the workforce.
“I took 10 months off after I retired,” said Aberegg. “I just traveled and I spent a tremendous amount of time in solitude camping and hiking – things like that I enjoy – to give me an opportunity to go ‘hey what do I miss about working?’”
According to Aberegg, what he missed most was the day-to-day interactions with other people.
“What I discovered: the only thing I missed was interacting with different people,” said Aberegg. “There is value in that – even in a service-related job like this, [it’s altruistic], you do get something back; it’s rewarding for me to help somebody. Just to interact with people, there is value in that and I missed it and that has been the best part so far.”
Aberegg said service-oriented work has been in his life from the start.“[This job] revolved arounds service and honestly it’s all that I’ve known since high school,” said Aberegg. “Directly out of high school I joined the United States Air Force, and then when I got out of the air force, I started to work for the Department of Corrections.”
Waynesburg University security offered the chance for Aberegg to reconnect with what he missed, he said. After being informed of the job opening by his neighbor- who happened to be Director of Public Safety Michael Humiston- Aberegg took the position for a variety of reasons.
“There are a number of things. One, it gives me an opportunity to serve in my community where I live,” said Aberegg. “Additionally…I was looking forward to something meaningful to do with either my time, or some of it, and to remain active. I’ve really enjoyed it so far.”
In just the couple of weeks Aberegg has been a part of the university, he said the job is increasingly rewarding.
“It’s been great, I really do enjoy [the job]. It’s been relatively quiet and I’ve met some really nice people and in the beginning, that is primarily what I’ve been doing, just getting to know the place even though I live right down the street,” said Aberegg. “I’m not so familiar with the campus, the layout of the buildings and the people that work within them, so I’m just kind of meeting people, and letting them get to know me for a little bit while I get to know them as well.”
Aberegg said he has an abundance of activities at Waynesburg to keep the work interesting – but ultimately, the best parts is helping others.
“For me, [the daily interactions] accelerates time for me, the days don’t go so slowly, you move from one interaction to the next,” said Aberegg. “Maybe I’m helping a student who is locked out of their room, or I’m giving someone access to an area they need access to. Things are constantly moving, so I maintain a level of physical activity walking around this campus – and that is good for you emotionally, physically, and to me it just makes me feel good to know that I’ve helped someone.”