Brandon is an easygoing guy, who enjoys his job, and does it well. His unassuming demeanor and friendly personality make him an essential employee, and an invaluable coworker. The latter is important, as Brandon is a member of an IT help desk with over 200 other staff members. In the fields of customer service and information technology, communication is key. After only two months, he already feels comfortable at his new job as a Level 1 technician at Centene, a medical insurance company that services various clients across the world. "I have always wanted to be in the IT field, and it feels so good to finally be here," Brandon says with a note of pride, and well-earned satisfaction. It's a place where he sees himself moving up within the company and advancing forward through life.
Brandon first became aware of ACCES-VR as a senior in high school. A family friend of his mother's had told them about the program, which was beneficial to the friend's son who also dealt with a disability. This was appealing to Brandon who has an ADHD diagnosis. "I'm an attention wanderer, I could pay attention for 10 minutes and then all of the sudden a 40-minute class would be over, and I would be at a complete loss." In high school, at Williamsville North, Brandon's IEP made arrangements for extra time, and set up after school sessions, where he could work one-on-one with his teachers. This enabled him to be the successful person he was capable of being. Brandon was immediately enrolled in ACCES-VR and began meeting regularly with his counselor Cassandra Avery.
Brandon attended ECC and took classes to earn his degree in information technology. ACCES-VR made sure that the accommodations that he utilized in high school rolled over into his higher education. They also paid for his tuition and books. Additionally, they paid for his gas mileage, which was a boon to him as a commuter. Even more helpful, ACCES-VR covered the cost of new equipment, which as an information technologist, requires expensive, top of the line, computer gear.
After completing his degree, ACCES-VR put Brandon in touch with Andrea Todaro and Innovative Placements. At the time he was already discouraged by the difficulty of job searching. Brandon and Andrea went to work immediately! They began by fixing his resume—to show off his accomplishments—and make him more tantalizing to employers. Then Andrea crafted an impressive cover letter that would grab hiring departments the moment they saw his application. Before Innovative Placements intervention, Brandon wasn't getting many calls at all; after the professional polish Andrea provided, and interview practice training, that changed. "Andrea really got my name out there! As soon as that happened, and Andrea initiated the mass distribution for me, calls started coming in nonstop, one after the other" With the calls coming in fast and furious, Andrea was there to help Brandon sift through the multitude of offers and career opportunities. This included debriefing after every phone call and narrowing down what he was looking for, to make sure they found the perfect job.
Eventually, Brandon found that perfect job in his current position with Centene. In his position as a service desk technician, Brandon is tasked with fixing everything that can go wrong for a company when computers are involved. "We deal with computers inside of computers; it's always complicated." He helps users in the US and India any time there is a software problem that needs to be "fixed." Most of what he works on is report generating software, which keeps track of records and allows healthcare providers to communicate with insurance companies. At the help desk, Brandon and the other members of his team, solve any problems that users might have. For any kind of corruption or system lockout (read: forgetting your password) Brandon can walk someone through the steps to fix it, or in truly dire situations, he is able to remotely access a user's computer and quickly clear up the problem.
Brandon is very good at his job. "Within the first week a user called with a serious problem. I ended up having to go in remotely and help her out. She was so gracious. That made me feel good!" The positive client feedback led to a strong performance review within the company. "The IT team reached out to me personally. I was shocked that they took it upon themselves to congratulate me." This early accolade is even more impressive considering that Brandon is living on his own for the first time and has been working in isolation. Because of the coronavirus Brandon has been working from home. "Actually, it's peaceful—just you and your work—I like it. It's nice not having to rush around and get ready every morning too." Even though he is on his own, he has been able to interact with his co-workers. They have Skype chat briefings every day, and zoom calls to stay in contact, and break the monotony of working from home.
Brandon has been very pleased with his employer. They are aware of his needs and go above and beyond for him, and all of their other employees too. For him, this includes allowing him the time it takes to complete tasks, not asking questions if Brandon needs to take a day to deal with his anxiety issues or attend a therapy appointment during the workday. "They even offered to bring me toilet paper and cleaning supplies during the pandemic if I required it. They made me feel like family right away. I had only ever heard of churches doing that kind of thing."
Besides the personal touch, Centene and its employees walked Brandon through a rigorous training period. "We had initial training, then training seminars for us to watch, then we would watch live as technicians helped clients, then we had the opportunity to try it out and technicians watched us…Lots of training!" Individual employees also provided him with cheat sheets and "walk-throughs" to solve problems. There is a network of helpful people, and direct access to a line of help, is always available.
As a level 1 technician, subcontracted by a company called TechSystems, Brandon makes $15.50 an hour. Perks include an hour lunch "I've never had that before," and access to any type of computer equipment he needs to do the job, no charge. "If I need something else, I just order from the website." In May, when his contract with TechSystems expires, and Brandon becomes a full hire, he will be promoted to a Level 2 technician and granted a raise!
"When I think about my job, I get this warm feeling in my chest!" enthuses Brandon. Described in one word, he says that his job is exciting! He finally has his foot in the door of his desired field. "I wouldn't be here without the help of Innovative Placements. It's important to get the word out about these programs. For me it was a reassurance; that it's not the end. Even if you have challenges there is always opportunity. Andrea opened new doors for me, and her approach was always, if one thing doesn't work out; don't worry, we have 17 other opportunities to try. It's hopeful!"
— Martin Kilroy, Writer for Innovative Placements