Pete: Lover of productivity, audiobooks, 70s rock and Cracker Barrel 

 

Janesville, WI, March 1, 2018 – “When I’m working, I’m contributing and being productive,” says Pete, an Aptiv participant focused on gaining employment skills.

Pete, who is blind and uses a wheelchair to get around, works to earn money while he’s enrolled in prevocational services offered at Aptiv’s Janesville location. He sorts hangers for a Madison based company that launders uniforms by placing them into a special board that is designed to help him determine if a hanger has the correct shape. If it is correct, he places it into the “acceptable” pile. If it doesn’t fit, it goes into the discard pile and he moves on to the next hanger.

Pete can assess 100 hangers a day. On really good days, he can get up to 200 hangers assessed. Typically Pete will work three and a half hours, two of those hours he works with a one-on-one support staff, while the other 90 minutes he is working independently.

“I enjoy what I do,” says Pete. “I feel more productive when I’m working. I go home after work and listen to audiobooks, just like my dad used to come home after a long day and read the newspaper.”

In his free time Pete writes his own songs and listens to 70s rock like Journey. He uses his earnings from his job to go out to eat at Cracker Barrel, one of his favorite restaurants.

Pete enjoys working so much, he advocated for himself to be able to work more hours during the day, even after some people on Pete’s team were wondering if his work hours should be cut. But Pete stood his ground and requested more hours than he was getting.

“Some thought I should start taking it slow,” he laughs. “But I insisted I wanted more hours. I’m happy when I’m working.”

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