Patrick’s Story

The Career Transition Project helps people with disabilities find rewarding employment.

Patrick was a young professional with a B.S. degree in education technology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Patrick also happened to have a hearing impairment which made finding rewarding employment a struggle after he graduated.

When Patrick was looking for a full time job, he was introduced to Bonnie Rubin, a career transition professional at Bender Consulting. Bonnie helps people with disabilities find competitive employment. In partnership with United Way of Southwestern PA’s Career Transition Project, Bonnie helped Patrick secure an interview at Peoples Natural Gas. “Persistence is key, and you have to be willing to put in the effort to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” says Bonnie.

Patrick was elated to be hired at Peoples as a coordinator for the North East region. Patrick enjoys the job – getting to interact with people and traveling a bit, but most importantly, “it feels like we are a team and it’s a good working environment.” Patrick takes pride in his job. “The work is very tedious and very analytical. I’m the last person to review the project to ensure the details of the job are correct,” he shared.

Patrick is grateful that Peoples has partnered with United Way to hire people with disabilities, and he believes more companies should do the same to increase the diversity of their workforce.

The Career Transition Project is a program of United Way’s 21 & Able initiative. The project is an innovative employment and training initiative that helps young people with disabilities secure work experience and paying jobs. To learn more, visit https://test.uwswpa.org/21-and-able/.

Patrick was a young professional with a B.S. degree in education technology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Patrick also happened to have a hearing impairment which made finding rewarding employment a struggle after he graduated.

When Patrick was looking for a full time job, he was introduced to Bonnie Rubin, a career transition professional at Bender Consulting. Bonnie helps people with disabilities find competitive employment. In partnership with United Way of Southwestern PA’s Career Transition Project, Bonnie helped Patrick secure an interview at Peoples Natural Gas. “Persistence is key, and you have to be willing to put in the effort to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” says Bonnie.

Patrick was elated to be hired at Peoples as a coordinator for the North East region. Patrick enjoys the job – getting to interact with people and traveling a bit, but most importantly, “it feels like we are a team and it’s a good working environment.” Patrick takes pride in his job. “The work is very tedious and very analytical. I’m the last person to review the project to ensure the details of the job are correct,” he shared.

Patrick is grateful that Peoples has partnered with United Way to hire people with disabilities, and he believes more companies should do the same to increase the diversity of their workforce.

The Career Transition Project is a program of United Way’s 21 & Able initiative. The project is an innovative employment and training initiative that helps young people with disabilities secure work experience and paying jobs. To learn more, visit https://test.uwswpa.org/21-and-able/.