Before coming to Maryland New Directions, Johnny DeQuair had worked for 17 years as a regional manager with the same company. He had been in charge of stores from Baltimore to Seattle and supervised 250 employees. It wasn’t until he was laid off that Johnny realized he had an issue with reading and writing.
Though Johnny earned his high school diploma, he still lacked fundamental skills due to the oversight of his school and his own ability to work around his issues. “I was clever and could test well, but I didn’t know the information.” Johnny graduated without really learning how to read or write.
Even with his extensive background in executive leadership, Johnny could not overcome his educational barriers on his own. He enrolled in adult literacy classes at a local non-profit, and was referred MND to help him
with his job-search process.
His hard work paid off. In June, Johnny obtained a survival job, but continued to build his skills as a volunteer at MND. MND staff later assisted Johnny to apply to Chimes, an organization that helps those with intellectual disabilities. He was hired as a Behavioral Tech in September, which matches his career interest and offers a career ladder for growth. He is not stopping there, though. Johnny is also pursuing his degree at BCCC in psychology and maintains an ‘A’ average. He was recently promoted to a managerial position at his company after working there for only 6 months. He has received a substantial pay increase and will now qualify for benefits and tuition reimbursement.
