​Gaby graduated from MICC's College Program in 2021 and works as an Attractions Assistant for Crayola Experience at Mall of America.

Gaby had an interesting start to her job at Crayola due to unpredictability of 2020. She was offered a position in November 2020 and shortly after, Crayola temporarily shut down due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. Even though the return date was unknown, Gaby showed resiliency in pursuing paid employment.

In January 2021, Gaby received a call that Crayola was reopening, and they had a job for her. Gaby said, “I felt excited and a little nervous to start my new job at Crayola."

Since then, Gaby has settled into her job as an Attractions Assistant. In her role, Gaby assists children in all sorts of different activities like “Rockin’ Paper," “U Design”, and “Drip Art”. Gaby said her favorite part of her job is “interacting with the kids who come to the attractions, especially when I get to work with kids with disabilities - they make my day!”

Her career goals include continuing to work at Crayola and increasing her skills. She shared, “I would like to become a PCA one day because I love helping people! Especially those who have special needs."

We are celebrating our November Participant of the Month, Ryan!

Participant of the Month is awarded by nominations from both peers and staff for individuals who have clearly demonstrated one or more of our three R’s: responsibility, resilience, and respect. Here are some of what people had to say about Ryan’s RESPONSIBILITY:

A staff member shared, “After a cooking demo, Ryan stayed late to help staff clean-up after the rest of his apartment had left.” Another staff echoed Ryan’s willingness to help saying, “Ryan always volunteers to help in Food with Friends! He volunteers to help before class starts, during class, and for clean-up.”

The staff continued, “He is also super kind, funny, creative, a great participant in class, and looks out for his friends.”

When asked why he has been recognized as Participant of the Month, Ryan shared, “I think the reason why I have been recognized as The Participant of the Month is that I always bring a positive attitude anywhere I go, and I will always help with activities and help out in any way I can.”

Ryan is currently a junior in MICC’s College Program. He is involved in Story Telling Fitness and Lego Masters. He shared that his favorite thing about MICC is “meeting new people and making friends”.
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Congratulations, Ryan!