Michael K. is an extremely intelligent and articulate person, motivated by his desire for knowledge. This desire, combined with his skills as a critical reader and researcher, allows him to develop a deep understanding of any topic. His skills as a writer give him the ability to convey that knowledge and understanding to others. A natural "autodidact", he is an asset to any company or field of study. In this way, it makes sense that Michael has found employment with a company that creates educational material in the form of diagnostic assessments. His work environment allows him to hone his skill set and take his career to the next level!
A self-confessed "knowledge junkie," Michael began his quest for knowledge at a young age. His need for knowledge was concealed behind a non-verbal learning disorder, which he was diagnosed with at age 5. He struggled with the initial integration to a school environment. "I hated going to school," Mike says with a laugh. This discomfort didn't affect his academic performance; he did well in school, maintained good grades, and had a large social circle of friends. He didn't realize the reason that he struggled with novel situations and his inability to deal with them until years later. At the age of 20, Mike was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, which helped him discover the reason for his challenges. At the higher end of the spectrum, Mike has trouble with social anxiety; as a result, he has difficulty with executive functions. This means he struggles with organizational skills, attention span, and decision making. His ability to execute these tasks takes a little longer than people not on the spectrum. "It has had an impact on me, but not as severe as it could be," he says. However, ultimately, it has not affected his success as evidenced by his academic honors and solid work performance.
In May 2018, Michael graduated from SUNY at Buffalo with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, a Minor in Anthropology, and a Concentration in Archaeology. He has always gravitated towards history, art, political history, geography, languages, and language arts. (He mentions that he knows math and science fairly well too.) At UB, he continued his study of the Russian language that he had begun as a high school student. He's had a longstanding interest in Russian culture, music and history and has reached near fluency. For example, not only has Michael read War and Peace, but he has read it in the original Russian. He also studied Latin and Spanish.
After college, Mike thought about going to grad school, yet he was unsure about a field of study, so he instead decided to pursue employment. He applied for some jobs related to political science but reached a dead end. Not content to remain idle, he used his time to take an online course to be certified to teach English. He hoped to travel abroad and teach English as a foreign language. Unfortunately, the coronavirus placed those aspirations "on hold," so he took a job as an Instacart shopper. "Argh," Mike sighs. "It wasn't great for 'on-the-job experience', difficult to make any kind of money, and not what I wanted to do." It was a very frustrating time for him, not being able to use his skills or pursue his interests. "It was nerve-wracking! All of that uncertainty! I wasn't too discouraged, but I was still worried about my future."
This time of uncertainty led him to ACCES-VR and Innovative Placements, which he heard about through his mother. His diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder qualified him for services. He applied and was enrolled in the program in the fall of 2020. His counselor at ACCES-VR, Amy Szymula, put Mike in touch with Andrea Todaro almost immediately. "Andrea would contact me twice a week to check in and assist me; she was so attentive. I liked that they pushed, but I was able to make my own decisions." This gave him a direction!
The mass distribution was a success and Mike heard back from at least 20 places that were hiring. Two positions caught his eye! The first was a substitute teacher for the Cleveland Hill School District in Cheektowaga and the second, a position at Slosson Educational Publications, Inc. Due to his interest in tutoring, both positions were appealing. A new challenge for him was interviewing with employers.
Mike's diagnosis made interviews difficult. As far as social anxiety, is there anything worse than interviewing for a job? "I've almost gone 'deer-in-the-headlights' a few times; sometimes my mind just goes blank." It was a problem that fueled his fear. The interview training with Andrea Samra went a long way toward assuaging his doubts. He also participated in a group job search and employment coaching Zoom workshop organized by Andrea Todaro. Preparation made it easier. Instead of being nervous, Mike now had the knowledge, and was able to anticipate questions; this put him at ease.
Thanks to the training, he was successful at both interviews and fielded two offers, ultimately choosing Slosson Educational Publications. Andrea Todaro helped him navigate the process, so that he knew how to politely decline one offer, and graciously accept the other. We could all use some help navigating those conventions.
Slosson's main focus is distributing diagnostic, and assessment based, educational tests and exams. In his role as executive secretary, Mike has a variety of responsibilities including email correspondence with clients, processing checks, creating invoices, giving clients quotes, reading over and approving contracts, viewing shipping schedules, and looking up prices and availability. He works closely with his boss, who is also the owner, and 4 other employees. They work out of a small building in East Aurora but deal with international clients: a focus that appeals to Michael. Slosson's clients are mostly learning institutions, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies. He has only been at the job for a couple of weeks yet already has goals that he wants to accomplish. After a recent staff turnover, the company was in a transitional stage. Mike hopes to turn some of that around and has already embraced a leadership role.
Currently, Mike makes $14.50 an hour and works 25 hours a week, yet he hopes this will go full-time soon! The job gives him the opportunity to work around his schedule: Mike helps take care of his elderly grandmother and continues to pursue his academic interests. He reads about a variety of subjects and is currently considering doing some independent writing. He is contemplating a paper on the Ukrainian Civil War.
Michael sees the opportunity to learn in every situation. This outlook has helped him cultivate strong critical thinking skills. His ideal position would be utilizing his skills to research and write critical papers on topics he is passionate about, such as international affairs, politics, and a handful of geographic areas, including Eastern Europe, Russia and the Middle East. In the meantime, he is learning a lot at Slosson that he can apply going forward. Thanks to Andrea Todaro and Andrea Samra at Innovative Placements, and Amy Szymula at ACCES-VR, Mike knows where he is going. Knowing helps!
— Martin Kilroy, Writer for Innovative Placements