As one of employU’s first clients, Josue knows how important it is to have someone in your corner to fight for your passions.  Though visually impaired, he was determined to make a career out of working with animals… and our Executive Director, Keith, shared that determination.   

Josue came to employU in November of 2012. At the time, employU was a lot smaller than it is today. Keith was doing a lot of the services himself and took on Josue as a client. Josue’s charismatic personality stood out to Keith from the moment he met him. As he got to know Josue, Keith learned that Josue’s impaired vision stemmed from eye drops he was given as a child for a pink eye infection. The drops caused cataracts to develop, and Josue lost his vision at age 6. After seeing another doctor years later as a teenager and receiving treatment, Josue’s vision partially returned. Now Josue has good vision days and not-so good vision days. His vision is low, and he experiences light sensitivity but is able to drive during the day.  

When speaking with Keith, Josue expressed his desire to work with animals. Ultimately, he wanted to be an animal groomer. During this time, employU was still in the beginning stages of development and did not have the resources that we have today. But Keith was determined to help Josue get started on his career path towards his dream job.  

“Seeing how far he’s come, I could not be more proud of him.”

Together, Keith and Josue sent applications to over 50 positions. While they did end up applying to positions in other industries, Keith’s main focus was getting Josue a position working with animals. After interviewing with a few positions, Josue began seeing a pattern. Most businesses wanted to hire someone with experience. Hearing this, Josue decided to postpone the job search and go to school for pet grooming with help from Vocational Rehabilitation (VR). After he completed school, Keith and Josue began the job search once again. 

This time, Josue applied to work at PetCo. After some persistence on both Josue and Keith’s part, Josue got a call from PetCo, offering him a position as a pet stylist. Shortly after starting his new position, Josue called Keith and let him know how much he loved his new job. He had found the right career for him.  

Today, almost ten years later, Josue has built a reputation as a go-to groomer. He has gained experience grooming police canines and many different types of exotic animals. “Seeing how far he’s come, I could not be more proud of him,” Keith expresses. A journey that started with employU, has become a life-long career path proving that passion, persistence, and determination can go a long way.  

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The youngest of six children, Aiden is a college student who loves being outdoors, enjoys bowling and has a black belt in Taekwondo. A member Phi Theta Kappa, he currently possesses an impressive 3.9 GPA. Aiden came to employU looking to gain more work experience. Though he had previously participated in several Work Based Learning Experiences (WBLE’s), Aiden and his mother both felt that Aiden wasn’t being challenged enough in his previous experiences. Aiden wanted a chance to show his full potential in the workplace.  

As soon as Employment Specialist, Chris, met Aiden, he saw that Aiden was an intelligent, gifted young man. Aiden was scheduled for an interview with Jackie Lytton, the worksite supervisor at Citrus County Chronicle for a WBLE.  He started his WBLE at the Chronicle shortly afterward. Aiden worked as an “Administrative Support.” His main duties consisted of restocking office supplies, relocating leftover newspapers into the recycling area, and preparing mail-out flyers. 

As the weeks progressed at the Chronicle, Chris noticed a change in Aiden’s behavior. Aiden began to demonstrate more confidence and slowly started to come out of his shell.  Aiden’s work performance also left quite an impression on the staff at the Chronicle. During Chris’s routine visits to the worksite, Jackie would frequently share positive feedback and her staff’s experience when interacting with Aiden. Before Aiden could complete his work training at the Chronicle, he received another referral and requested to complete a second work training at the Chronicle. Jackie and the Chronicle staff were very excited that Aiden would have the opportunity to continue working with them.  For his second WBLE with The Chronicle, Aiden worked as a “Newspaper Sorter.” This required him to work with a team, on an assembly line and they would collect the newspapers, assemble them, and stack them into a machine, which would then automatically wrap them into a bundle. He also would routinely stock office supplies in various departments at the worksite, and relocate leftover newspapers into the recycling area. Aiden would also assist with preparing mail-out flyers and auditing and organizing files for the administrative department. 

“My team and I are so thankful that Aiden came to us. He has surpassed all expectations. We never have to worry that he won’t show up or do his list of duties. …He moves so quickly and efficiently. He’s like our little energizer bunny…He is so professional in dealing with the employees. Everyone has noticed him and has enjoyed having his energy and help with their projects,” Jackie says of Aiden. 

“My team and I are so thankful that Aiden came to us. He has surpassed all expectations. We never have to worry that he won’t show up or do his list of duties. …He moves so quickly and efficiently. He’s like our little energizer bunny…He is so professional in dealing with the employees. Everyone has noticed him and has enjoyed having his energy and help with their projects.”

But Jackie isn’t the only one who has noticed Aiden’s growth and success. Aiden’s mom, Cheri, tells us since Aiden joined employU he has progressed in such a positive way and is becoming more confident, communicative, outgoing, and independent. Cheri further states that Aiden has become more outspoken at his church’s youth group and is telling jokes to his peers. Cheri described the positive changes in Aiden’s behavior and stated that each work training has contributed to these important changes in her son’s development as a young adult. Chris explains, “The pride and joy that Cheri had while talking about her son is not something I can easily describe. One thing I did take away from speaking with Cheri was that Aiden’s family was grateful for the employU program and Aiden’s success is certainly a heartfelt experience for all those involved.”  For more information on our employment services visit https://employu.org/client-services/ or contact us using the form below.  

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Passion Fuels A Career Path:
Jenn’s Story

Jenn is a client who recently graduated from high school and enrolled in Project SEARCH. After several months in Project SEARCH, Jenn found that working in a hospital setting was not for her. Unsure of what she wanted to do now that she was out of school, Jenn was referred for an On-the-Job-Training (OJT) to discover new opportunities in the workforce. When meeting with Jeff, her employment specialist, the first question he asked was, “What is your dream job?” Jenn very quickly answered that she loves horses.

Her mom agreed and told Jeff that when Jenn took riding lessons as a child, she loved the idea of being around horses but did not know if there was a future in that for Jenn. As Jeff and Jenn continued to talk, it became apparent that animal care was Jenn’s passion.

Jeff reached out to a business partner that employU had worked with in the past about a possible OJT for Jenn. This farm was not able to provide the proper support for Jenn but was happy to share in the contact information for Two Points Farm. The owner, Michelle Tiffany, quickly jumped on board and offered Jenn a position with her crew to care for the over 40 horses in her boarding stable. She loved the idea of working with Jenn and helping her discover the possibilities that working with large animals can provide.

In the first two weeks of her OJT, Jenn was tired, sore, and, most importantly, happy at the end of each shift. She made mistakes and learned from them. She didn’t miss a shift and even asked to work on a holiday when her friends had the day off from school.

So, what’s next for Jenn? She has been accepted to Indian River State College’s Project Stage where she hopes to continue her training and participate in their Vet Tech program. Just 3 months ago, the idea of going back to school was a hard no for Jenn. Now she is excited about the idea of working around large animals as a career in barns or with a vet’s office. She has agreed to continue volunteering at Two Points Farm with Michelle and her team to continue to build her skills, learn new jobs around the farm, and eventually get back up on the horse and start taking riding lessons again. Jenn’s mother has noticed the change in Jenn at home. She is a new person and is excited about the idea of going to work each day. Jeff tells us, “Jenn’s smile when she is around the horses tells everything you need to know.” For more information on our youth services, visit https://employu.org/transition-youth-program/ or contact us using the form below.

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