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2021 AHEDD Success Stories

Scott Sandrock
 
Scott Sandrock’s life changed in 2017 when he found out he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. This was a time that was full of stress and confusion for him. Thankfully in 2018, Scott had a bone marrow transplant, and later that year he decided he was ready to get back to work! 
When looking for work, Scott heard about the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work program and he chose AHEDD as his Employment Network to support his employment journey! He was hired at Governor Mifflin School District as a Technology Support Assistant where he repairs and maintains student computers and assists the staff and students with their technology needs. Scott said AHEDD “allowed me to get my life back on track professionally and financially and I’m working at a job that really seems to fit.”
Currently, Scott is able to take advantage of several opportunities given through the school district which includes him earning his A+ Certification through CompTIA and developing a second-tier tech position for his department to allow growth and advancement! 
Scott is thankful for his Employment Specialist, AHEDD and the Ticket to Work program for helping him navigate his way back to independence! We are proud of you, Scott!
 
Matthew Weidman

Reading Area Community College (RACC) is lucky to have Matthew Weidman as an employee! He is reliable, responsible and eager to work! Matt had not been working the past few years due to his disability but decided 2020 was his time to get back to work! 
He made his first jump when he started working with AHEDD back in April of 2020 when he was enrolled in the Ticket to Work program. Matt and Area Manager, Rose Hardy, worked together to understand what type of employment he wanted to get back into! Previously, Matt had been a Director at many different colleges including Widener, Elizabethtown and Easten. Due to some health issues, he had to stop working in 2017 get the right care he needed. At first, Matt was hesitant to work in a higher education job again due to his employment gap, so he started working as a part-time cashier at Target. Although Matt enjoyed the position and interacting with the public, it was not the right choice for him due to long hours on his feet. Rose continued the search and came across the position of a part-time Success Coach at RACC which was a much better fit for him and higher paying! Knowing that she believed in Matt and his abilities, she created a Cover Letter explaining his employment gap to submit along with his resume and references. This gave him the confidence to submit his application to RACC and the rest was history! He now has successfully been working there since November of 2020 and truly enjoys what he does. Matt explained many times how much of a tremendous help Rose has been to him to find his way back to employment. She provided not just services, but a huge amount of encouragement! 

 
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Matt’s main job responsibilities include advising new and current students with choosing their classes for upcoming semesters and assisting with outreach to recruit new students to attend their campus. However, Matt’s favorite and most important job duty is encouraging students to reach their educational goals and full potential! He has the goal to start working more hours throughout the week and to one day get a promotion to a position that is a good fit for his skill sets and experience!Not only is AHEDD extremely proud of his accomplishments, but his family is as well. His parents stated “We are so happy and proud that our son has been able to return to work. These last few years have been a long, hard road for him. We really appreciate everything that AHEDD has done for him to help him get back into the workforce.” They have noticed a significant improvement in his demeanor and confidence since he has returned to work because he now has a sense of pride and accomplishment with what he does. This proves that work is truly more than just a paycheck. 
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Scott Scheller

We are so excited to announce that one of our AHEDD participants won Employee of the Year for the Lancaster County Employment Recognition Event. Employment Specialist, Jaelene Weaver, has been working with Donald “Scott” Scheller since June of 2020 when Scott’s manager, Bill Ashcroft, reached out to AHEDD to see if there was anything we could do to help Scott. Scott is a dishwasher at Tobias Frogg and is a truly valued employee there. When some concerning habits started to arise, Bill wanted to find new ways to accommodate Scott in order to keep him employed. Bill stated that the Tobias Frogg employees are like family, so as a team they worked closely with Jaelene to assist Scott to help him improve his performance! They started by creating a new routine with Scott and helping him with his schedule and transportation. They wanted Scott to work more hours, but it was a concern because he was not able to store his medication properly. Management addressed this concern by purchasing a locking refrigerator to store the medication safely which led to more hours for Scott! The team members of Tobias Frogg worked so well together to accommodate Scott that Jaelene nominated them for the Employer Recognition Award. Even though they did not win, their teamwork did not go unnoticed to us! 
 
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Jaelene stated that Scott has grown so much in his role and promptly addressed the performance concerns of his employer and corrected the errors as presented. Because of his performance improvements, the Tobias Frogg chef and coworkers have been training Scott in the new role of prep cook in addition to his current role. Their most recent task was teaching Scott to use the slicer. Scott does an excellent job and enjoys working with his team at Tobias Frogg who he considers a second family. His coworkers reciprocate that feeling right back as they describe him to be a pleasure to work with! Jaelene and the rest of the AHEDD team are proud of you, Scott, you deserve this award!
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