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Where Are They Now? - Yrvens Guerrier
10/6/2019 4:11:00 PM | Football
Yrvens Guerrier's time as a Florida Atlantic University defensive lineman wasn't glamorous. Â
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He sacrificed personal statistics and recognition by drawing double-team blocks and freeing his teammates to make plays. And when Guerrier made mistakes, his coaching staff grilled him in the film room accordingly.
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That experience toughened Guerrier's skin – which prepared him for a career in social services.
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"You're going to get criticized, and you can't take it personal," said Guerrier, FAU's 2003 defensive MVP. "You made your error; you take it, acknowledge it and do better when the next opportunity presents itself."
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When Guerrier graduated in 2004, however, his next opportunity was unclear.
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His football career was over. He needed to find a job and a place to live. He had to "figure life out."
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But despite the enormity of his situation, Guerrier never felt overwhelmed – thanks to what coach Howard Schnellenberger taught him at FAU.
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"Once you commit yourself, no matter what the barrier is, you're going to find a way to get over it," Guerrier said. "And that's one thing he always instilled in us: work until you'll be able to prepare yourself to endure whatever it is you need to endure."
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After some trial and error in his job search, Guerrier decided to follow his passion: impacting the lives of others. So, he began working for the Florida Department of Children and Families in 2007, investigating abuse and neglect of the elderly and disabled.Â
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But something was missing.Â
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Guerrier wanted to prevent hardships; he was reporting their aftermaths. In pursuit of the former, Guerrier left for Simply Healthcare, a Florida health maintenance organization (HMO), in 2015.
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As a Simply Healthcare care coordinator, Guerrier worked directly with senior citizens to keep them from prematurely entering nursing facilities. He provided them with home-delivered meals, incontinence supplies and transportation to and from doctor's appointments.
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"Pretty much anything that they'd receive in a nursing home, we coordinate for them to receive it in their home," Guerrier said.
Â
The job gave Guerrier the fulfillment he longed for. Instead of investigating cases, closing them and moving on, Guerrier built long-standing relationships and rapport with the roughly 60 clients he served.
Â
"We're with them for years to come, and it's a lot more rewarding and refreshing because we're able to follow that individual and ensure their needs are met for as long as their criteria meets the program's," Guerrier said.
Â
Guerrier knew he was thriving with Simply Healthcare, but he didn't think his superiors were paying close attention.
Â
He was wrong: they promoted him to management in 2017. In a mere two years, Guerrier went from being a care coordinator to overseeing 16 of them.
Â
At FAU, Guerrier earned game balls for "doing what I was supposed to be doing," which meant putting his teammates in position to succeed. Guerrier is taking the same approach in his career, and the promotion is one of its early dividends.
Â
"You commit yourself to this line of work, and sometimes it goes unnoticed – and you don't do this work for being recognized all the time – but it's always refreshing and rewarding to know that your superiors are recognizing the hard work that you're putting in," Guerrier said.
Â
Despite being relatively new to Simply Healthcare, Guerrier's ascent into a managerial role was "smooth." That's because he did something similar at FAU.
Â
As a member of the program's inaugural recruiting class in 2001, Guerrier had the rare opportunity of being an underclassman team leader. That responsibility, of building the culture and foundation of FAU football, required total commitment.
Â
And Guerrier has carried that mindset ever since.
Â
"We had to entrust the coaches that we're going to be committed to what we say we're going to do: commit to coming to practice, commit to the game plans we needed to learn, commit to the program and commit to the vision," Guerrier said. "And the same thing applies to my current role: I have to commit to the well-being of the members that I serve."Â
Â
Â
He sacrificed personal statistics and recognition by drawing double-team blocks and freeing his teammates to make plays. And when Guerrier made mistakes, his coaching staff grilled him in the film room accordingly.
Â
That experience toughened Guerrier's skin – which prepared him for a career in social services.
Â
"You're going to get criticized, and you can't take it personal," said Guerrier, FAU's 2003 defensive MVP. "You made your error; you take it, acknowledge it and do better when the next opportunity presents itself."
Â
When Guerrier graduated in 2004, however, his next opportunity was unclear.
Â
His football career was over. He needed to find a job and a place to live. He had to "figure life out."
Â
But despite the enormity of his situation, Guerrier never felt overwhelmed – thanks to what coach Howard Schnellenberger taught him at FAU.
Â
"Once you commit yourself, no matter what the barrier is, you're going to find a way to get over it," Guerrier said. "And that's one thing he always instilled in us: work until you'll be able to prepare yourself to endure whatever it is you need to endure."
Â
After some trial and error in his job search, Guerrier decided to follow his passion: impacting the lives of others. So, he began working for the Florida Department of Children and Families in 2007, investigating abuse and neglect of the elderly and disabled.Â
Â
But something was missing.Â
Â
Guerrier wanted to prevent hardships; he was reporting their aftermaths. In pursuit of the former, Guerrier left for Simply Healthcare, a Florida health maintenance organization (HMO), in 2015.
Â
As a Simply Healthcare care coordinator, Guerrier worked directly with senior citizens to keep them from prematurely entering nursing facilities. He provided them with home-delivered meals, incontinence supplies and transportation to and from doctor's appointments.
Â
"Pretty much anything that they'd receive in a nursing home, we coordinate for them to receive it in their home," Guerrier said.
Â
The job gave Guerrier the fulfillment he longed for. Instead of investigating cases, closing them and moving on, Guerrier built long-standing relationships and rapport with the roughly 60 clients he served.
Â
"We're with them for years to come, and it's a lot more rewarding and refreshing because we're able to follow that individual and ensure their needs are met for as long as their criteria meets the program's," Guerrier said.
Â
Guerrier knew he was thriving with Simply Healthcare, but he didn't think his superiors were paying close attention.
Â
He was wrong: they promoted him to management in 2017. In a mere two years, Guerrier went from being a care coordinator to overseeing 16 of them.
Â
At FAU, Guerrier earned game balls for "doing what I was supposed to be doing," which meant putting his teammates in position to succeed. Guerrier is taking the same approach in his career, and the promotion is one of its early dividends.
Â
"You commit yourself to this line of work, and sometimes it goes unnoticed – and you don't do this work for being recognized all the time – but it's always refreshing and rewarding to know that your superiors are recognizing the hard work that you're putting in," Guerrier said.
Â
Despite being relatively new to Simply Healthcare, Guerrier's ascent into a managerial role was "smooth." That's because he did something similar at FAU.
Â
As a member of the program's inaugural recruiting class in 2001, Guerrier had the rare opportunity of being an underclassman team leader. That responsibility, of building the culture and foundation of FAU football, required total commitment.
Â
And Guerrier has carried that mindset ever since.
Â
"We had to entrust the coaches that we're going to be committed to what we say we're going to do: commit to coming to practice, commit to the game plans we needed to learn, commit to the program and commit to the vision," Guerrier said. "And the same thing applies to my current role: I have to commit to the well-being of the members that I serve."Â
Â
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