At the time I met Jaye, I had just moved from South America. I was struggling with English as my Second Language, the new culture, and new work, as a Production Worker at Lighthouse for the Blind. Although I had lots of skills working in my country, (running Toyota dealerships in several cities) I did not have any credentials or diplomas. I never knew that I had to face the challenge to prove to my employers that I could do jobs at high level of management. With my accent, blindness, and being a woman of color, I experienced employment challenges in America.

I started Jaye’s Resiliency+ program, which met locally in my area. My classmates and I learned the professional vocabulary that helped me to talk to my employers about my skills. She also explained to me that my skills had important value, and that I had good potential to succeed.

But when I applied for new positions, I was denied. I was frustrated when I could not get into work I preferred. I needed better business skills and vocabulary, and ability to get through interviews.

I asked Jaye to help me get unstuck. She helped me write my Resiliency resume, and a career plan to my dream job. I gave those to my boss. He passed it on. The Vice President of Human Resources created an opening just for me and asked me to write my own job description.

The HR Vice President, and LFB leadership team, asked me to come and explain what I learned. They saw the change in me and wanted more of that in our work environment. When I told them about Resiliency+ model (the value chain) they were impressed. After they heard my resiliency experience, I was moved to HR, full-time. My main job was to help the team with performance reviews.

This journey took many years and a lot of work to learn, but thanks to the help of Jaye, and the Resiliency+ program, everything was possible. From shop floor to the board room!

Now, I am a Human Resources Representative. I love it!