Today, Lanera Parker is a top employee at the Bobby Dodd Institute Contact Center. She is assisting new trainees, helping them prepare for their customer service roles.
Lanera adores her job. But getting here was not easy.
Four years ago, her vision started declining. Born with perfect sight, that was something she was not prepared for. “Losing my sight affected my mental health and also my confidence,” she says.
The challenges followed one after another. She was actively applying for jobs, but after making it to the interview stage, she was rejected so many times that she lost count. Until she saw a job posting from Bobby Dodd Institute.
She applied and got hired.
The team made every effort to provide the accommodations she needed, including making sure all documents were available in large print. But that was not all. She wanted to prove she could do even more with the right support. She did her research and introduced the team to a software called JAWS, which helps people with visual impairments navigate the digital world. It has made a tremendous difference. The tool allows her to do her job, and best of all, the team is now prepared to accommodate future employees with visual impairments like hers.
“The experience has been amazing,” Lanera says, trying to hold back tears. “I have had a lot of rejection from other jobs and have been mistreated because of my vision, but here I found my comfort.”
Her advice to other people with disabilities is to keep pushing. Challenges will always be there, but with the right support, they can be overcome.
Having a job completely changed her life.
“This job not only pays my bills. I am able to go out and do more things. I am able to enjoy my life,” Lanera says.
