Laura Gregory, 2011 Award of Excellence Finalist
Job Point relies on community support to further our mission of promoting the abilities of individuals seeking employment and greater participation in community life.
Laura Gregory works to restock shelves at the Fulton Wal-Mart. Surrounded by carrot cake, her job is full of temptations. But at no point in Laura’s life, was she ever tempted to give up. Laura explains, “When I had my first seizure, I was like age five and we didn’t know what it was. We were out in the pasture. My dad was grooming the horses, getting ready for summer. And then all of a sudden, I fell and started shaking. We found out a couple of months later it was Epilepsy.” By the time she was in high school, Laura was suffering more than a hundred seizures a day. She’d completely lost the use of her right hand. Her seizure disorder had gotten so much worse that it required three brain surgeries. Two of those were to remove part of her brain. That was the only way they could get the seizures to stop. “I had to learn how to do everything over again. I had to learn how to walk, talk and write. I had a therapist that used music to help me learn how to talk again. Whenever you heard Taylor Swift playing in the hallways, you knew I was in speech therapy. My favorite song from Taylor Swift now is ‘Fearless’ because she’s always been fearless to me and, I think I’m kind of fearless.” Laura also had to learn how to get a job. She worked with Job Point through the supported employment program, where she did some assessments and looked at her interests and her abilities. Melanie Bunton, Laura’s Job Point Advisor said, “At first we had a bit of a tough time, because she had no work experience. It was difficult to explain why she hadn’t been working since she graduated high school.” Job Point taught Laura how to fill out resumes, how to dress and how to interview. Then she landed the job at Wal-Mart. Laura’s been seizure free for nearly 4 years. “Every month, I was like, ‘Yay’, another month!” Laura IS fearless. She has her health, her life, and now, an Award of Excellence from Job Point. (Story by Sarah Hill, KOMU)
Laura’s story illustrates the power of Job Point’s work. Please consider joining our mission to promote the abilities of ALL people seeking employment and greater participation in community life.
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