By: Billy Kraus, Employment Counselor Service Area: Virtual PEERS courses throughout Virginia When I first began working with Dexter in December 2024, he was a bright, kind, and creative young man with a goal that so many of our students share. He wanted meaningful work, real independence, and a chance to contribute in a workplace where he could thrive. What he needed most was support building his confidence and strengthening his communication skills so he could feel prepared stepping into competitive employment. Through several months of Pre-Employment Transition Services and Situational Assessments, we were able to better understand Dexter’s strengths, interests, and needs. From there, he participated in our PEERS Social Skills course. This turned out to be a truly pivotal experience for him. During the program, Dexter practiced social awareness, communication strategies, and real world interaction skills. Over time, I watched him gain confidence, find his voice, and begin to truly b...
Keaton and his grandmother, Faye | Source New River CC During the Fall of 2014, Keaton Hanks was a volunteer with a new and emerging consulting group in the Pulaski area of southwestern Virginia. Around that time, Keaton began working with his job coach at The Choice Group through Community Support Services. His objective was to gain employment as the consulting group's part-time administrative assistant by working on his customer service and administrative assistance skills with his coach, Caitlin Igor. Together they worked on phone etiquette, data entry, and in-person customer interaction skills while he was volunteering at the consulting agency. After several months of progress, Keaton was hired as the part-time administrative assistant at the consulting agency where he was volunteering! He and his job coach continued to work on reading and interpreting detailed instructions to complete data entry projects as well as advancing his already improved customer service skills. ...
Meet Christopher! Full-time employee at Southern Stainless in Waynesboro, pilot (yes, PILOT!), and accomplished performing musician. In addition to flying, Chris has also designed his own airplanes. For a couple of years now Chris has been at Southern Stainless, a very successful fabrication and manufacturing company. They did not hesitate to hire Chris and have been incredibly supportive the entire time he has been there. Chris' vocational counselor, Davide, spoke to several associates there on a regular basis when Chris first started to check in and offer additional support. They always took the time to update Davide and express how pleased they were with having Chris there. They were professional, genuine, and always had remarkable phone etiquette. Chris’ main duty there is to clean the manufactured metal parts and finished pieces. This is essentially the last step before they are shipped off to their custo...
Congratulations to our Area Manager, Erica Johnson for the Northern Virginia office, on earning the VARL Emerging Leader Award! She does such a great job, but is so shy she didn't even want us to take this picture. But too bad Erica, we are proud of you!
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