Success Stories
Beverly McCurry | Luke Aichele | Steven Stout | David & Kevin Galbreath | Destney Williams
Azhar Shah: A Portrait of Success
At this time last year, Azhar Shah was living with his parents in Pakistan where he was born and raised. He only had a fifth grade education and had never held a job. Shah was born with mild mental retardation and hearing and vision impairment. He was unable to receive services in Pakistan that might help him overcome his disabilities. Speaking no English, Shah came to the United States to live with his sister and brother-in-law and their family. When he got settled in and adjusted to a new American way of life his family helped him to get vocational rehabilitation services.
After determining that he did have a disability his vocational rehabilitation counselor referred him to Goodwill Industries of Kansas for a situational assessment.
When Shah came to Goodwill Industries of Kansas he was assessed by a Gateway Coordinator/Assessment Specialist. She helped him learn a job in our contracts department and determined what supports he needed to be successful in community employment. When Shah completed the assessment and Angela thought he was ready to work in the community, he was able to start his very first job as a temporary worker in the Goodwill plant doing the job he learned during his assessment.
“Shah is very motivated and always on time. The only problem we have with him is getting him to stop working and take a break.”.
After several months as a temporary worker, Shah was hired full time in June and is now receiving benefits. He is a hard worker and despite his language barrier he is becoming more socially active with his coworkers.
“Shah is someone who is very concerned with his work; he rarely wants to take a break. The most important thing to him is the quality of his work. He can watch a process one time and be able to pick it up without ever having to be reminded of what to do.” “He’s really come out of his shell and is well liked by his coworkers.”
Christina Smith: Graduate of the Year
As soon as you meet Christina Smith, you are greeted with a bright smile. Her enthusiasm for her job at Sharpline Converting is obvious. Christiana’s hard work, positive attitude and good example make her the 2004 Graduate of the Year.
Christina came to Goodwill Industries of Kansas to get assistance with finding employment in the community. Christina has a learning disability and a skin disorder that prevents her from working in certain work environments that will affect her health, so it was important that she find the right job for her. With the help of an employment training specialist she was able to find a job at Sharpline Converting where she has been employed for a year and a half.
Christina enjoys writing poetry, taking dance lessons and especially looks forward to payday when she can go shopping! In the future Christina’s goals are to save money for her college education and to someday own her own photography business.
She is dependable and enjoys working for Sharpline. Christina is very social and enjoys helping others. She feels that with hard work, she can reach her goals she has for her future.
Shantae Harris: 2004 Youth Program Graduate of the Year
Shantae Harris sounds like a typical teenager, she likes writing poetry, singing, running track & field and watching reality TV. However, the 2004 Youth Program Graduate of the Year has had to overcome many obstacles in her 19 years. She became a parent with adult responsibilities when she had a child at age 14.
Shantae was able to graduate from high school while being a full-time mom. In addition to supporting her daughter, she also cares for a younger sister. After graduation, she realized that she didn’t have the financial means to go to college or get training, but she wanted to so that she would be able to get a job that would provide self-sufficiency for her and her daughter. She wasn’t sure how she was going to be able to do this when her aunt suggested the Goodwill Youth Services Program.
Shantae came to Goodwill Industries of Kansas in April 2003 and has been an active and involved participant in the program. She will complete Office Assistant training at Wichita Area Technical College this December and has already started a job as a bank teller for Bank of America. Shantae’s achievements made her an easy pick for Graduate of the Year.
In the future, Shantae wants to maintain her job at Bank of America and hopes to advance her position. She enjoys working with people and customer service. Shantae always knew what she wanted for her future; she just didn’t know how she was going to get there. Goodwill Industries has provided funding assistance for tuition, clothing, transportation maintenance and gas so that she could successfully complete her training program and gain employment at a self-sufficient wage for her and her daughter.
Karl Zumwalt: 2004 Achiever of the Year
Karl Zumwalt’s quiet demeanor, constant smile and work ethic, despite his disabilities, have earned him the title of 2004 Achiever of the Year. Karl stands out as this year’s Achiever for many reasons. He always arrives to work on time, he’s always looking forward to working and never has a complaint. He learns each task very quickly and always remains on task with a smile on his face and he loves to help his coworkers.
Karl was born with autism and has had to overcome his communication barriers to succeed in the workplace. He came to Goodwill Industries of Kansas in 1996 to work and earn a paycheck. Since then, he has learned to overcome his communication barriers by watching and learning. He recently recovered from a broken ankle which he learned to deal with in the work area very well.
Watching movies, TV and going out to eat are a few of Karl’s favorite things to do. His goals for the future include continuing his job at Goodwill Industries, learning new jobs and communicating more with others.
He sets an example to others in the work area with his good attitude and willingness to please others. Each day Karl continues to overcome barriers, becoming a true “Portrait of Success.”
S.J. Riley: 2005 Graduate of the Year
Sebern J. “S.J.” Riley enjoys a hard day’s work. He works quickly and efficiently from task to task at his job at Fazoli’s making him the obvious choice for the 2005 Graduate of the Year.
S.J., who was born with a mild developmental disability, had recently moved from California to Wichita and wanted to find employment when he was referred to the Community Employment program at Goodwill Industries. He underwent an assessment with Gateway Coordinator/Assessment Specialist Angela Scott who determined that he was a good candidate for community employment. S.J. then started working with Employment Training Specialist Ray MacNicol and expressed an interest in working in the food industry.
S.J. learned how to fill out applications and worked on interviewing skills and attended Job Club each week, which helped him in his job search. He was happy to get a job at Fazoli’s where he has worked for the past year. He cleans trays, takes out the trash, fills the ice, napkins and silverware and cleans the tables.
S.J. has a strong desire to work. He is motivated to perform his tasks and is very dependable. He is a hard worker and has missed no days at work. He has overcome his transportation barriers, often riding his bicycle or walking to work.
In his spare time, S.J. enjoys weightlifting, listening to music and staying healthy. In the future, S.J. wants to continue to improve himself, learning more duties at work. He even hopes to buy his own car.
“S.J. has come a long way in one year. He has learned many tasks and has expanded his ability to communicate. His employer and managers are very supportive of him and he has earned two merit raises”, said Employment Training Specialist Ray MacNicol.
Beverly McCurry: 2005 Achiever of the Year 
Despite her quiet disposition, Beverly McCurry stands out as the 2005 Achiever of the Year because of her pleasant attitude and strong work ethic. Beverly came to Goodwill Industries looking for a job and something to do. Her mother is a former employee and thought this would be a perfect fit for Beverly. When she was placed in the organizational employment program, she started out bagging fiber for the T.H.E.M. contract, but has quickly learned other jobs, including the bags of rags and sewing aprons for the NISH contract.
Beverly had to overcome barriers including developmental disabilities dealing with her communication and vocational skills, as well as dealing with her temper, but she has applied herself and learned new skills in the process.
Beverly enjoys swimming, playing softball, bowling and cheerleading. In the future, she hopes to work toward full time employment at Goodwill Industries, possible hanging clothes for the stores.
“Working here has changed my life. I’m treated nice and I earn a paycheck, which makes me very happy,” said Beverly.
Luke Aichele: 2005 Graduate of the Year
When you walk into Haskins Hair Co. and see a customer getting a haircut in Richard “Luke” Aichele’s chair, you’d think Luke had been a barber for many years, with his laid back attitude and professional demeanor. What you don’t see is the obstacles that stood in the way, but didn’t deter him from achieving his dream.
Luke grew up in an unstable home, with his father being sentenced to life in the California correctional facility when Luke was just six years old. His mother provided some support, but had her own personal demons to deal with. The new father figure in his life was abusive which forced him to make the decision to move out on his own at the age of sixteen. For the next several years, Luke worked to support himself. In his teen years he had a mild encounter with the court system, but it did not deter Luke from wanting to pursue his goal of becoming a barber.
Luke came to Wichita from McPherson to attend the Old Town Barber School. In September 2004, Luke turned to the Goodwill Youth Program for help in paying for his occupational training as a barber. His income and limited work history met our program guidelines and he began meeting with Youth Services Specialist Sharon Neria about once a month to track his progress and keep him moving toward his goal of becoming a barber.
During the first six months of his schooling he drove back and forth from McPherson daily and worked at a service station all night. He rented a room in Wichita while completing the last five months of his training and lived as frugally as possible, but still had to sell his motorcycle to cover his living expenses.
After nine long months of school, hard work and sacrifice, Luke graduated in March 2005 and began working as a barber right away. In the future, Luke would like to own his own shop, but for now he’s enjoying his life as a newlywed.
UPDATE!!
Luke Aichele, our Youth Graduate of the Year, has found even more success! He has opened his own barber shop in McPherson, KS! He opened the shop in October after a couple of weeks of remodeling. He did all of the work himself including the painting, flooring and decor. The sports themed shop is open 54 hours a week and has one chair. Luke hopes to expand that to two chairs by the end of the year.
Planting Seeds for Success: Steven Stout 
Good natured, hard working and always smiling are just a few ways to describe Steven Stout. Steven is a client in the Organizational Employment program where he has worked since 1997. Steven works primarily on the fiber contract, sealing the bags of fiber, boxing it and preparing it for shipping.
Steven was born with a developmental disability, but doesn’t let that slow him down, in fact he rarely misses a day of work and is always on time. His supervisors say that he will do anything you ask of him and do it well. “He is a hard worker and sticks to his job. Even if he’s joking around with his co-workers he keeps right on working,” said Supervisor Susan Maloney.
Steven often jokes around with his co-workers and is a huge sports fan, always rooting for his Oklahoma Sooners. He is eager to participate in activities like the annual Cozmic Bowling fundraiser and decorating the client tree for Festival of Trees. He enjoys the weekly Job Club, where his favorite part is taking tours of other businesses. In his spare time, Steven also likes to listen to music and eat his favorite food, chocolate chip cookies!
Planting Seeds for Success: David & Kevin Galbreath
Cleaning, laundry and exercising at the YMCA are not things that most of us enjoy doing on a regular basis. But for the Galbreath brothers this is how they enjoy spending their time! Kevin, 41, and David, 39, started working at Goodwill in Fiber/Contracts in September of 2005 after moving to Wichita from the Ark City area.
The brothers, who were born with developmental disabilities, both enjoy bagging fiber for the THEM contract and working on the Bag of Rags contract. David’s favorite job is cleaning the loan closet equipment.
Kevin enjoys playing games and watching television. David enjoys cooking with Mom and watching Duke’s of Hazard. They both enjoy the jammin’ to the radio and list cleaning as their favorite thing to do!
They enjoy being able to work together and look forward to learning new contracts. David would even like to start hanging clothes for the store!
Destney Denise Nichole Williams: EDGE Graduate of the Year
When Destney Williams, the 2009 EDGE Graduate of the Year was getting into trouble and roaming the streets, she never imagined life as a college student or working as a CNA, but that dream was realized with the help of Goodwill’s EDGE program.
Destney’s troubled teen years led her to foster care, where she said her life changed. She had a positive role model that showed her what her life could be. She was working in fast food but she knew something had to change. She enrolled in Goodwill’s EDGE program in April 2008 to get her GED. She was discouraged and downtrodden, but she persevered. With determination, goals and encouragement she obtained her GED in only three months and is now enrolled in nursing school at Wichita Area Technical College. Now at age 19, Destney works as a CNA and carries a 3.75 GPA.
“Getting my GED is a great opportunity for me because I can get a better job and eventually give back to the community,” said Destney.
Destney has a passion and enthusiasm for life. She is eager to share her experiences and wants to prove herself to those that have helped her. She is the first person in her family to get a GED and she is determined to succeed.
“he EDGE program is a good program because they help you follow your dreams. This is an opportunity that a lot of people don’t get,” said Destney.
