You
might
be wondering who
that guy
in the back office at the Summit store is, or perhaps you have been wondering
just what it is that he’s doing. The answers to both questions are not easily
answered, but like all good things, we’ll start with a proper introduction. To
answer the former, “that guy” is me. My name is Matthew McCray. I was born and
raised in Corry, PA, not too far from Erie. I went to Edinboro
University for my undergraduate degree and for my MA in Social Sciences. I have
spent the last decade in Pittsburgh, PA, working in the Workforce
Development
field.
Somewhere along the way, I got my MA in Industrial Organizational Psychology,
met my wife (Nicole), started a family,
and
had probably way too much fun doing all of it. I have been with Goodwill for
about a year and a half thus far in my career. It had long been a dream of mine
to work for the organization once I learned about our mission in my youth. When
I got the chance to do so, of course I took the opportunity. Formerly, I ran a transition
program
in Pittsburgh to assist
youth with disabilities to transition into adulthood and the workforce.
I know
what some of you may be thinking: “What!?
Why
would anybody want to move to Erie from the bustling metropolis of
Pittsburgh!?” Well,
the answer to that is simple and begins to answer the latter question that was
posed. Being in the Workforce
Development
field
in a major metro area is rewarding, but there are many hands pulling on the
rope to coax progress in the right direction. In the Erie area, the same rope has
less
hands pulling on it, making
progress
difficult. While I could have done the easy thing in life and stayed where I
was, I felt a special calling to return to my home to take the wheel and right
the listing ship. I knew my presence and what I can bring to the table would
mean more at this Goodwill,
and
the areas we serve,
than
it could anywhere else.
When I
had the opportunity to come to this Goodwill, I took it. I packed up my family
and all of our belongings into a 26-foot truck, four
cars,
and a minivan, and moved to the Erie area. So what is it that I am doing here?
I am here as the Mission Services Developer to install as many of the 53 Workforce
Development
programs
Goodwill offers as we can.
These programs
serve nearly every conceivable nitch
and demographic. We have employment programs for both youth and adults with
physical and cognitive disabilities. We also have programs for veterans. There
is not a population that we cannot reach once we have built our Workforce
Development
programs
to match what other Goodwills
have done across the country. Soon, you will see clients begin to work at
our
stores from some of the programs we are starting. This is just the first step
towards the grand vision that we have laid out. The only way we can achieve our
goals, is if we all work together. I have had the pleasure of getting to know
many of you here, thus far, and I can tell you that we have a lot of talent and
passion in our midst. We will need all of it to get where we want to go.
So there
you have it. Next time you are walking by the office, feel free to stop by and
say hello. It will be awesome to get to know everyone
that I work with. As
the hero Commodore Perry once said “Don’t give up the ship.”
With
all of the talent we have, and the vision of a brighter economic future for our
region, we have no need to.
Above: Matthew McCray,
as
seen
standing second
from the left, who is our Mission Services Developer.
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