Leadership Development

“My name is William White and I am from San Jose, California. I first started with Best Buddies at the first California chapter at Palo Alto High School in 1993. I was my high school Buddy Director and joined Best Buddies when I went to college at Taft College. Now I work at AVID as a part of Best Buddies Jobs. I have been working at AVID for seven years and my favorite thing about my job is that it makes me feel really good. I want to tell you how it has changed me. When I first started working at AVID, I was only working part time. However, they needed more help, so I moved to full-time very soon. It was really hard at first, but then I met my coworkers Robbie and then Dave, who helped me overcome my fears by taking the time to explain things. Now I love my job! My coworkers are now some of my best friends. They are helpful at work, and we spend time outside work at the gym, going to dinner, shooting pool, and they often give me rides to and from work!

I also love my job because it makes me independent. I live in my own apartment, I have vacation time so I can travel, and most importantly I do not have to depend on anybody else.

With the help of my coworkers, I am always learning new things. This makes me feel like I can do anything. I feel lucky that I have a job. It has changed my life by making me independent and happy.”

– William