Jason Kerkman
Jason Kerkman's advice to people with disabilities contemplating employment never wavers.
"I tell everyone to at least try it," said Kerkman, who is the disability program navigator at Nebraska Workforce Development. "People shouldn't limit themselves. Give it a try to see if it's the right thing to do. They'll never know unless they try."
This is hardly hollow advice coming from the 33-year-old Kerkman. He's been following it since a one-car accident in 1993 left him paralyzed from the armpits.
Following the accident and subsequent rehabilitation, Kerkman enrolled in Carroll College in Waukesha, Wis., and four years later he graduated with a bachelor's degree in social work. During college, he worked part-time at a nearby YMCA.
"I was living on Social Security disability, but I was like your typical college student - I needed a little extra money," he said.
With a college education in hand, Kerkman began working as a youth counselor at a residential treatment center for boys near Milwaukee. Kerkman got the job, he said, because of an internship he completed at the facility during his senior year at Carroll College.
Kerkman, though, opted to work part-time at the treatment facility so he could stay active in the community. At the time, he was involved in peer counseling, was on the board of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association - Greater Milwaukee area, and participated in wheelchair racing.
Kerkman is an avid wheelchair racer, having competed in 11 marathons (a distance of more than 26 miles), including the famed Boston Marathon, and dozens more shorter road races. "I worked part-time to stay under what I call the Social Security salary cap," he said. "At the time, it was the best thing for me. That way, I was able to stay involved in the community, which was very important to me."
In 2004, Kerkman moved to Lincoln and continued to work part-time. Eventually, though, he began exploring full-time opportunities. His life changed in 2002 when he married Anya.
For Kerkman, going to work full-time was the right thing to do.
"I had been working part-time all those years, and I felt like I had acquired enough experience, whether it was employment or volunteer experience, where I could get a position that would make it worthwhile to be off Social Security," he said. "I knew things would change. I wouldn't be as active in the community, I wouldn't be training for two or three marathons a year, and I wouldn't be able to do the peer counseling like I did before. However, I knew it would give me an opportunity to use my skills and get paid to use them.
"I can look back to my rehab 13 years ago, when they were pushing me to be as independent as I can for this very reason, knowing that in the long-term it would allow me more freedom to work full-time."
He applied for a half dozen full-time jobs in Lincoln before he landed his current position with Workforce Development. He used Nebraska Vocational Rehab to hone his interview skills and sharpen his resume before he submitted his application.
Now, Kerkman uses his own work experience help people with disabilities explore whether employment is right for them.
"One of the most important things I do is help people understand the incentives that are out there," Kerkman said. "We're not experts at everything; we try to steer people in the right direction to maybe alleviate some hoops that are out there. I really am a resource for both the job seeker and the employer."
(June 2006)
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