Success Stories
Welcome to the YES! Center Success Stories Series!
Success stories are an important way of demonstrating what’s possible. They speak to people in ways that are much more immediate than research, reports or statistics. Success stories is a series of ever-growing posts on the YES! Center blog. We are regularly posting new success stories, so check back often.
Success stories are made available to you under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, so you are free to share and reuse them, provided you attribute the YES! Center as the creator.

Devon’s Story of Employment – “I love my job!”
I love my job. I started working at Universal Cells (UCells), an Astellas Pharma company located in Seattle, Washington, in February 2018 as an Office Lab Assistant. There have been

Katie’s Hurdles and Accomplishments
“People will always tell you, ‘You can’t do it.’ I learned that the hard way, but if you put your mind to it, you can do anything. I want my

Zachary Miller’s Experience Finding a Job During the Pandemic
Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, CalTASH chapter Vice President Zachary Miller was in his third year working part of the day in the California State House and part in the

Meet Kirstin and Learn About Her First Community-Based Job Experience
Kirstin Bradach enjoys the color pink, laughing, making food, and taking photos of her creations. Until last summer, Kirstin worked her entire adult life for Goodwill Industries of the Columbia

Meet Gabe! Husband, Advocate, and Employee of The Month
Gabe and his wife, Alex, moved to Washington, DC from Kansas City, MO in 2012. While Gabe has Down Syndrome and Alex has Cerebral Palsy, neither of them have ever

Utah’s School to Work Program Hosts Successful Community of Practice
Last week, the YES! Center staff attended a Community of Practice, hosted by our Utah PIE state partners. The YES! Center staff kicked off the day with a welcome and quick

Meet Kevin, a Future Mentor and Motivational Speaker!
Kevin Wright is a 24-year old native Washingtonian with a Learning Disability and a Speech Impairment. Kevin does not consider them barriers; instead, he considers his quiet nature to be

Meet Steven, a Social Justice Activist and Future Entrepreneur!
Steven Powe is a native Washingtonian who was faced with many barriers growing up with intellectual and learning disabilities, as well as, mental health issues. But throughout his struggles, Steven

Meet Almir Through His Mother’s Eyes
HOW A MOTHER’S ROLE WAS KEY IN HELPING HER SON FIND EMPLOYMENT. Hi, my name is Shedia Tulic and I want to let you know I have my only son,

Meet David, The EMT!
David lives in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. During middle school and high school, David’s school transition plan involved working as part of each school day. He tried working