JOB HUNT PAYS OFF IN PRIDE.Byline: Dennis McCarthy Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
It's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow end of the rainbow the unreachable end of the earth. [Western Folklore: Misc.] See : Remoteness , the long shot hitting the tape first, the heavy underdog knocking out the favorite. A job. They've landed a job. Come the end of May, when Wal-Mart opens a new store in Panorama City, Alex Shalita, 25, will stand at the front entrance greeting Greeting is a way for humans[1] to intentionally communicate awareness of each other's presence, to show attention to, and/or to affirm or suggest a type of relationship or social status between individuals or groups of people coming in contact with people. Alma Solano, 26, will be inside putting price tags on merchandise. Roberto Urbina, 28, and Frieda Correa, 41, will be keeping the aisles clean on the maintenance crew. You shouldn't have any trouble recognizing them. They'll be the ones with the big, excited smiles on their faces. You can get pretty excited when you've been told most of your life that you wouldn't ever qualify for a job like this. Told that even minimum-wage paying jobs were way beyond the reach of people like you - people with developmentally disabilities, such as mental retardation mental retardation, below average level of intellectual functioning, usually defined by an IQ of below 70 to 75, combined with limitations in the skills necessary for daily living. , autism autism (ô`tĭzəm), developmental disability resulting from a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain. It is characterized by the abnormal development of communication skills, social skills, and reasoning. , epilepsy epilepsy, a chronic disorder of cerebral function characterized by periodic convulsive seizures. There are many conditions that have epileptic seizures. Sudden discharge of excess electrical activity, which can be either generalized (involving many areas of cells in and cerebral palsy cerebral palsy (sərē`brəl pôl`zē), disability caused by brain damage before or during birth or in the first years, resulting in a loss of voluntary muscular control and coordination. . Yeah, well, life would be pretty boring, wouldn't it? If underdogs and long shots never won. Rebecca Morell knew she had to move fast. The word was already out on the street that Wal-Mart was opening a new store around late May or so in Panorama City. The director of Tierra del Sol's community integration program knew every agency in town would be knocking on Wal-Mart's door trying to find jobs for their people. She had to knock first Knock First is a reality television series in which an adolescent is chosen for a total room makeover by the Knock First crew. The first series aired starting in the fall of 2003 on ABC Family. . Opportunities like this were the cornerstone cornerstone Ceremonial building block, dated or otherwise inscribed, usually placed in an outer wall of a building to commemorate its dedication. Often the stone is hollowed out to contain newspapers, photographs, or other documents reflecting current customs, with a view to of Tierra del Sol Sol, in Roman religion Sol (sŏl), in Roman religion, sun god. An ancient god of Mesopotamian origin, he was introduced (c.220) into Roman religion as Sol Invictus by emperor Heliogabalus. , a private, nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. Sunland organization founded in 1971 by the parents of developmentally disabled kids - parents who wanted their sons and daughters to live the fullest, most productive lives possible. Twenty-seven years later, many of those children and others who have followed are adults, ranging in age from the mid-20s to 50s. It's been Morell's job to take the work training they've received from the staff over the years, and turn it into possible jobs on the outside. Tough job, finding that elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for Tierra del Sol's long shots and underdogs. Bernie Seaman SEAMAN. A sailor; a mariner; one whose business is navigation. 2 Boulay Paty, Dr. Com. 232; Code de Commerce art. 262; Laws of Oleron, art. 7; Laws of Wishuy, art. 19. The term seamen, in it most enlarged sense, includes the captain a well as other persons of the crew; in a more confined didn't know what to expect when he pulled his car into the driveway of Tierra del Sol early this February. All the manager of the new Wal-Mart knew was that he liked the style of the staff members who had been calling him about jobs for some of their people. Bernie liked fighters, especially long shots and underdogs who thought they could win if given a chance. Tierra del Sol, he would soon learn, was filled with them. By the time he left that afternoon, he had struck a deal with Rebecca Morell. He had eight possible job openings. Send him 10 of her best applicants for interviews, and he'd see what he could do. No promises, though. They would have to pass the tests and oral interviews just like everybody else. After all, he was running a business, not a charity. But deep down - where that soft spot is with people who love long shots and underdogs - Bernie Seaman was rooting for Rebecca's people. Everybody needs a chance, he told himself on the drive back to Panorama City. Wal-Mart gave him his, and he'd love to return the favor for Tierra del Sol. Six of the 10 applicants made it through the first interview to a second. Four, eventually, passed all the tests and were offered jobs. Rebecca sat down the ones who didn't make it, and consoled them - tried to explain that this just wasn't to be the job for them. There would be a next time, another chance. Then, she called the parents of Wal-Mart's four new employees, and told them the good news. ``They began to cry,'' Rebecca said Wednesday. ``This is the biggest thing to come along in their lives. They never thought they'd live to see the day their children would have a real job, and certainly not at Wal-Mart. ``It's where many of them go to shop, and see their friends. For their child to actually get a job there is something they only dreamed of.'' The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Frieda Correa, left, Roberto Urbina, Alex Shalita and Alma Solano will start Wal-Mart jobs in May. Hans Gutknecht/Daily News |
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