Recently I graduated from college. I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do. All I knew was that I was moving to a new city to start a new life. That was great for the most part except I didn’t have a job yet and my bank account was sitting at just enough money to pay rent for June. It took me a long time to decide that I would simply try my luck at applying to a few DSP positions. DSP stands for Direct Support Professional. This is an entry-level job that helps people with mental illness, brain injuries and the like create and achieve goals towards living independently as well as supporting them in their daily lives and activities.

I applied to a few jobs and then took a break. Within a half hour of applying to one job, I received a call to set up an interview. I was beyond excited and began preparing for my interview the next day. I hadn’t had a real interview since my first job in high school. I wasn’t entirely sure what to go to the job site with or even what to say about myself if they asked me questions. My interview was with a really wonderful woman and one of my coworkers. The interview was relaxed, informal event, and really was focused on getting to know me as a person and why I wanted to work in the field. By the end of the interview, I was offered the job.I never expected to get a job within 24 hours of me starting to search for one. I never expected to be starting a job one week after I graduated from college.

Due to confidentiality I am not allowed to speak about the residents. However, I can say that I am certainly out of my comfort zone when I go to work every day. For the most part, I will be working by myself with people I don’t know. The residents think I’m too quiet and for anyone who knows me, it’s true. I’m always quiet in the beginning. Give me a few months though and hopefully I will have blossomed into the loud mouth my friends know I can be.

My new job requires me to fulfill a number of trainings and certifications. The first was a certification in Defensive Driving. Though I never once stepped foot into a vehicle during this training I feel as though I learned a lot of information about driving. While not all of it was good information, in fact, there were a few things that made absolutely no sense to me, I did learn how to be a little bit safer when driving. The second training I have to do is the College of Direct Support training. This is 61 college lessons about how to work with people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. I am still in the middle of this training and it’s already taken me about 30 hours to do the 50 lessons I’ve completed. But hey, at least I’m getting paid for all of this.

Next week I will be taking a class to become a CRMA or a Certified Residential Medication Aide. This means I will be able to pass meds to any residents who may need them. This makes me eligible to be able to an abundance of things in the program such as cross train at different sites and even be able to apply to higher up positions. Next week I will also be getting my Behavioral Regulations and Reportable Events training. Some other trainings that I will get along my career journey will be First Aid/CPR, my RBIS training(which teaches me how to work with people with Traumatic Brain Injuries) and my NAPPI training(which shows me how to work with violent residents).

Overall I have found myself in a good place in my life. This job may not pay the best, but it is super rewarding. It is allowing me to help people gain their own independence.