Camilo loves to cook and he loves cooking shows.
Now when he was younger he was obsessed with Emeril Lagasse.
Bam!
Now, when I was his age, it was The Cajun Chef.
The way he said, “on-yon” for onion
and “put an elbow of dis and an elbow of dat!”
Camilo’s passion for cooking and food
shaped his path.
All Italian All American
That's what my hat says.
I work at three places.
Dishwash manager
administrator and dance captain.
I've worked at Donatelli's for ten years.
I'm a dishwash manager now
so I take care of a kitchen area.
And I do lots of
communicating with other people and mostly dishwashing.
Because I have a lot of stuff to put away
and washing everything
and most of the scrubbing also.
That's my job.
I knew early on that his interest was food service.
I watched cooking shows since I was a teenager.
[Patricia] He was also my shadow in the kitchen
and loved learning about all of the different recipes.
And he liked eating the food.
So then we really sought out opportunities for him
to gain some of the skills that were related to that as a future career.
In high school, he had different work experiences.
He did some janitorial work at the middle school.
There was one one place it might have been St Andrew's
where you delivered like food trays to older people
[Camilo] Food trays to older people.
When Camilo was in Transition Plus
I was really impressed with the program
because in the morning he was at 916 in a food service program.
So he was with all kinds of people interested in a career in food service
and learned many, many different aspects of the business.
In the afternoons they would go out
and apprenticeship in different locations around the area.
Camilo, what were some of the places that you went to
in Transition Plus?
Yea, I was at Dunn Brothers like [age] seventeen years.
I’d do hands on most of the time.
You learn dishwashing at Sinefellas.
[Camilo] Sinefellas.
[Patricia] And then you learned stacking shelves at Kowalski's
And then you learned how to clean tables.
[Camilo] Clean tables
Filled condiments at Dunn Brothers and cleaned tables
organized kind of the
the dining area. [Camilo] Yeah.
I think Century College was a really good experience.
It's not a program necessarily adapted or tailored to people with disabilities.
But it worked really well and they actually really accommodated.
I think it's important that they know that this career is
you have to take it seriously and you have to learn the skills.
Most people go for job training.
I thought it was a nice college like experience for him
to study the job before he went to it.
[CP] Morning Cam!
[Camilo] Hey CP!
[CP] How you doin buddy?
[Camilo] Doing good!
[Patricia] I think what's really important
and that we found at Donatelli's is they're like a family.
This is my good
that’s my friend of mine.
Oh, yes, sir.
[Patricia] And Camilla was really sensitive to the people around him
so he wants to feel accepted
and he couldn't have found a better place.
I’ve got three of my closest friends at my job.
They really accept and respect him
for the skill set that he has
what he brings to the job.
[Camilo] my strengths are organization
memory
being a hard worker
and being a reliable person.
He's a good worker.
[Co-worker] Hi Cam!
Hey how you doin?
[Co-worker] Good how are you?
I'm good so far!
They think that he's the positive person
that kind of holds everything together.
[CP] We have to bust out some Michael today and show 'em your moves Cam.
As much as he's gained from being there
they've gained from having him there.
And they have said that
on many occasions.
Almost done? Alright, cool cool.
We have to have patience.
[Patricia ]He has to take 179 different
plates, pots, utensils and put them in the right places.
He will not miss a day at work.
He does his best.
He takes feedback and improves.
But he's got great interpersonal skills on the job.
[Camilo] We did a lot of pasta today also.
Camilo's really great at the groove and once he gets in a groove, he's there
and he's set and he's happy and he likes things to be consistent and predictable.
He thinks he has a beautiful life and he tells me that all the time
that he's just really lucky.
Understanding strengths
and learning the right job related skills can lead to the right job.
Camilo was able to pursue his interests when he was younger
and had many different work experiences in high school.
Even if you're not sure which path is yours.
first jobs help you learn what you do and you don't like to do.
Plus, they teach basic skills that can help in any career.
Things like getting to work on time
connecting with coworkers and following through on work tasks.
Collaborative partnerships make all the difference in outcomes.
Both age 18 to 21 transition programing
through school and postsecondary education courses
provided education
and continued support
which contributed to Carmilo's employment success.
He found work that offered opportunity for growth and is now a manager
with the help of many resources and family support
Camilo has achieved a work life balance that would be the envy of many of us.
Thanks, Camilo.