Meet Donald Paul: Welding instructor, dad of three daughters, ages 5, 3 and 15 months

“I try to be flexible and patient with my children because sometimes things do not go as I have planned.”

Donald Paul Maurer, welding instructor

• What do you do at HACC?
  I am a full-time instructor in the Welding Program at the Harrisburg Campus.
   
• How old are your children?
  I have three daughters, ages 5, 3 and 15 months.
   
• How are you effectively juggling your professional duties and your personal duties of having your children at home while you work?
  It can be challenging because my children were used to me working outside of the home. Now that I’m home all the time, they want me to play with them all the time. I have found that scheduling specific times to do my work, and specific times to play with my daughters has been helpful to meet their needs for affection and attention, and my needs to do my job. I have set up a dedicated office space where I can complete my work, which has helped my children to understand that when I am in my office, I am “at work.”
   
• What tips (things to do and things to not do) would you offer to other parents who are struggling with this?
  • I plan an hour or two in the morning for the girls to do their own activities, which allows time for me to complete some of my work for school.
  • I make nap time/quiet time a priority in the afternoon, so I use that time to “go to work.”
  • I try to be flexible and patient with my children because sometimes things do not go as I have planned.