08/31/2020
My daughter Eden was asked to write about her employment journey. Here are her responses:
1 What has your professional journey been?
Hi my name is Eden Rapp and I am 24 years old from California and I have been working at Mod Pizza since 2019. However my job journey did not start there. When I was in high school I volunteered at my local library and also was an office assistant at my school. Then I started making health bars in 2013 for a start up kitchen and took culinary arts and office training at the career transition center. After completing high school in 2015 I continued learning about the work environment and different life skills like cooking or learning how to make a bed or staying active. I also got to do workability as a Teacher Assistant at Amestoy Elementary School. Because the staff at Doyle Career Transition Center believed in me and saw potential in me, they decided to give me a challenge and it was fun. So in 2016 in the summer they promoted me to the Center for Advanced Transition Skills (CATS), the next training level which is learning to work in the real world and taking classes at a community college at the same time.
CATS met on a regular college campus which is Harbor College. They give you transportation safety lessons every morning to your work spot and back to the campus and back home. They do this until you feel comfortable and ready to do this on your own. After the first two times they will only give you prompts to pull the cord on the bus and after two weeks they will sit farther away from you and they are quiet because they encourage you to do this on your own and so after the two weeks of silence they will stop riding the bus with you but will follow you by their own cars for another week so after three weeks in all they will feel like you are doing a good job and then that is when you are doing the transportation independently. They were able to pick a job placement that I loved: I liked Gulf Avenue Elementary School cafeteria because they talked things through with me and showed me at the same time what they were expecting me to do and then they did other things while I was prepping the trays for breakfast for the students. Like the previous training I was only with CATS for a year and a half from 2016 to spring of 2017. That was when the director saw the potential in me again challenging me to do the next and final level in the different job training programs in my school district.
So in 2017 I was given an Access card for transportation and now I started to go back and forth to the hospital for a one-year unpaid internship at Kaiser South Bay Medical Center called Project Search. Project Search involved three different partnerships: the hospital itself, Regional Center, and Best Buddies job coaching . While I was there I had three rotations: two rotations in office work for the Maternal Child Health department and then in Administration; and one rotation in the gift shop. Project Search helped me be professional in what I say and do: to be responsible, reliable and respectful.
After I graduated in 2018 from Project Search, my Best Buddies job coach asked me what kind of jobs I was interested in, found job openings, helped me fill out applications and prepared me for job interviews. She always went with me to interviews for support too. It was hard work but finally after eight months she asked me if I could fold boxes and I said yes. So at the end of February of 2019 I had an interview at Mod Pizza and I started training in March 2019. What I do at work is box folding, pressing dough, and if they are busy I will help with online orders.
2 Why do you enjoy working at Mod?
The reason why I love working at Mod Pizza is because it not only gives me the chance to put smiles on people’s faces, but it also teaches me how to act socially appropriate. I love that it is an inclusive environment and they believe all people should work no matter what your background is. Everyone is super supportive and funny; we learn a lot about each other and that means a lot to me. When I first started they helped me to fit in and make me feel like we are a family. I enjoy folding boxes and pressing dough; those are my two favorite tasks.
3 what does your job mean to you?
It means a lot to me. When I first got started I made several mistakes other than acting socially appropriately. Being at Mod taught me more than just doing my job it also taught me about different life lessons it for example:
1 managing my time: When I first started I did not really care about the timing of the bus routes so I would pick bus times right at my shift times and I felt bad and so I made a action plan with my parents and my boss to learn how to read a bus schedule so every time I work I would sit down with either mom or dad and they taught me how to read a bus schedule so now I take buses fifteen or thirty minutes before my shift so that I would be on time.
2 reading and keeping a schedule: I am more of a list oriented person than actually reading a schedule and so I wouldn’t stay focused so i would look at everyone’s schedule instead of my own and so one time I thought I did not have to go in because I thought I had a day off but I was wrong so again I made a action plan on learning how to just look at my schedule I would forward my schedules to my parents and I would print them out and highlight my name and my shift hours so I can see it more clearly so that I won’t be that confused and now that is not a problem
3 learning to give to other ministries or other people: I have been paid more than minimum wage and so because of that I now give to other people on my own and my dad taught me how to write checks and keep a checkbook register. So I now pay for my own fitness coach who comes to my backyard so that I can be more fit and now I made my weight goal. Also I give to a friend who is in ministry and so every three months I make a donation to her. So that is a lot of fun.
4 teasing vs. playing around: One of my captains but I like to call them trainers always kept me accountable and brought me back down to earth, and also not just help me with what I do at work but also about life. There was a time I asked her,” What is the difference between picking on someone and playing around?” Through the months she was able to show me and to tell me the difference between teasing and playing around and through the months where I was having a hard time she was there to get me through it all and she is the best. I am thankful that other co workers,trainers/captains, plus my boss Gary keep me accountable and challenge me to do more than what I am used to.
4 Why is employment important to people with in the Down syndrome community?
It is said that 87 percent of people with Down syndrome are unemployed. I don’t like that statistic. I think that people like me should be able to do the same things as people with only 46 chromosomes. We may have to work harder at different job skills so people can see our potential, but everyone is different and has different talents.
Employment is more than a paycheck. Working in the community means interacting with people besides yourself and your family. You start building relationships with other people, and with the money you get, you can either save it, invest it, help other people other than yourself, or you can do something fun like go on vacation or go to Knotts Berry Farm to get a chicken meal for your family or something related to that. Many self-advocates have the goal and dream about wanting to move out and so working and employment is crucial for them. Having a job not only makes me feel more independent but also it makes me feel like I can see my future and grow in independent living.
