Since connecting with Rise in 2006, Amy Pancake has worked on several community employment groups: at Liberty Carton, at Donatelle Medical, and now at nVent/HOFFMAN in Anoka, Minn. Over the years, Amy has learned firsthand how important it can be to have a trusted group of colleagues and supporters to work with. In the lunchroom at nVent, she lists some of the friends she’s made throughout her employment journey: Amy, Beth, Tanya, Tarleisha, Carley, and many more.

At nVent, like her other jobs before, Amy works in a community setting alongside a crew of folks from Rise, supervised by Direct Support Professionals and other Rise staff. Amy says that her friendships with colleagues, many of whom have moved with her from previous sites, make her work go faster and add a lot more fun to her workdays.

Amy’s days at nVent are filled with various tasks and responsibilities. Mostly, she assembles kits to ship with finished products. The work requires a lot of focus and attention to detail, something Amy hasn’t always come by naturally.

“There have been challenges where I would lose my focus on the job,” she shares. But Amy has never been one to shy away from a challenge. Working with her supervisors, she has learned to trust her abilities and adjust her expectations by choosing to work on purchases that she feels confident with. With those small tweaks and the right support, her work has been smoother than ever.

In the future, Amy says, she has her sights set on working in retail, or maybe even massage therapy. While working with clothes would be a plus, she feels very drawn to these professions because they involve creating relationships with others. For Amy, trusting, supportive, positive relationships are truly the key to success and fulfillment at work.

We are so proud of Amy for her growth over the years. “It’s been a long journey,” she says, but the journey has been worth it. We’re proud to support Amy and can’t wait to see where she shines her light next!