Success in the Work Experience Program

Success. Some people search for it, others fall into it and others are directed toward it. This is my story of how I am finding it. My name is Dean Marshall and I have always desired to work in the field of computer repair and IT support but never truly had the opportunity to do so because of my lack of vision and no one really believing that it was possible. When I arrived at W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Brantford I entered the Work Experience Program and my teacher, Shelley Conliffe, was able to secure a placement for me at ”Big Bang Computers”, where I was finally given the opportunity to learn my desired trade.

Right from the beginning, Rob Sayles and Ken Klunder, co-owners of Big Bang Computers, saw my "being blind” as something to be worked "around” and NOT as a disability. They have been training me on construction of computer hardware, PC and Linux operating systems, managing inventory and the occasional opportunity in sales. Never did Rob or Ken look at my vision and say "it can’t be done”, they always asked "how do you want to approach this?” and we have learned how to give each other the information that I needed in order for me to learn these new skills. It is in this approach that they truly have helped me to achieve "success”.

Thanks to this placement I have learned not only how to assemble and recognize various computer components but also the value of various pieces of technology. This information is exceedingly useful for this profession and thanks to these guys I believe that I will be able to continue in this field as a career. But even more that that, having had a glimpse of reality from the work placement, I know now that “success” is part of my future.