A Life-Changing Education: Making an Impact as Houseparents at Milton Hershey School
By Rodney and Aimee Sonderman
Nearly 26 years ago, during a visit to Hersheypark, we took a trolley ride that would change our lives. On the Hershey Trolley Works tour, we learned about Milton Hershey School. Discovering the opportunity to become houseparents was thrilling for us. The chance to use our backgrounds and strengths to make a positive impact, work together, raise our family, and make a difference in the lives of others is what drew us to this role. A few weeks later, we moved our young family to Hershey, Pennsylvania, to start our new career as houseparents.
We met in Illinois while pursuing graduate degrees in outdoor recreation. Our passion for the outdoors led us to this field. After completing our degrees, Rodney began working for Scouting America (formerly the Boy Scouts of America), managing a facility that served a thousand kids weekly in San Diego.
While running youth camps in remote areas with long emergency response times, Rodney began developing emergency management skills to ensure the safety of the children and staff he worked with. After relocating to Hershey, he joined the Hershey Volunteer Fire Department, where he utilized his skills as an emergency responder and now serves as the deputy chief. Over the years, our involvement with the fire department has allowed us to have a more significant impact on the students in our care. Many students from our home have joined the department as junior firefighters, giving them the opportunity to respond to real-life emergencies alongside Rodney.
At the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, our home was designated as one of the first responder theme homes. This allows us to reinforce the Milton Hershey School Sacred Values and emphasize the importance of work ethic and respect through activities focused on emergency response. In partnership with the Law, Public Safety, and Security teachers, the boys in our home can apply their classroom learning through real and simulated experiences.
We have been fortunate to spend most of our careers at Milton Hershey School working with high school boys. They are independent yet inquisitive, and we play a key role in preparing them for their next steps as they transition to independent living and graduate from Milton Hershey School.
In our student home, we hold our students to high standards while allowing them the independence to pursue their goals, make mistakes, and learn from them. We prioritize developing strong relationships with the boys and ensure they know we are always here to support them. We believe when our students recognize their potential and see themselves as we see them, they become their most successful selves.
Being houseparents at MHS has been more than just a career for us. Over the past 26 years, we’ve built a family with the many students who have lived in our student home. It means so much to us that we’ve played a role in the lives of many young men who have led successful lives.
Learn More about Houseparents at MHS