By: Jehangir Saleh
Written: August 25, 2002

Four months ago Adam Buschmeyer was undetermined. Out of work, out of school, and on welfare he stood outside St. Stephen’s Employment and Training Centre. Pushed by failing ambition and a recommendation from his girlfriend he walked into St. Stephen’s; his life did a 360.
As a child, Adam wanted to be an astronaut. He assures me that sooner or later, he plans to land on the moon. But too long ago, he never knew such ambition. “I had this indifferent, aphetic attitude”, said Adam “I walked into St. Stephen’s expecting a handout, figuring it would be a typical employment centre, not a big help”. He had no idea that day would change his life. I interviewed him after a hard day’s work where he now is an executive administrator at North Rock mechanics, and a budding entrepreneur.
“I asked myself ‘Where are you going?’ and it didn’t take much to realize I was going no where”, recalls Adam. He registered for Job Connect, a job placement program at St. Stephen’s funded by the Province of Ontario. The program places the job seeker with a job counsellor who empowers them with the tools to find employment. Adam was assigned to employment counsellor Helen Hyun. “You could see a real progression in Adam” says Helen, “you could see the improvement as he kept coming in”.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t want a job, I wasn’t mentally ready for getting a job”. Adam describes an instance during a counselling session with Helen where he was slouched in his chair. When she asked him about his lazy posture, he was hit with a wave of realization. “It was a light bulb moment! Something so simple, but it had never occurred to me. Any employer would look at that and see a negative attitude”.
As Adam kept visiting St. Stephen’s, his enthusiasm rose. “It was like a went from going no where to suddenly ‘oh my lord’, I have this clarity and wisdom. With Helen, he learned __(need to find info on how he acquired his entrepreneurial job placement )_________.
His speech now carries with it a flow of confidence and energy. He seems ready to do battle with all employment obstacles in his path.
The Job Connect program places job seekers into an employment position with a commitment from the employment. Adam’s employer was looking for someone who eventually wanted to take over the entire business. “Here I am. I never would have imagined myself in this position” says Adam, with his enteurpreneurial spirit, “I’m learning to run my own business, I developing my own business proposal”. Aside from being an astronaut, or a professional skydiver, Adam’s dream job is to be a self-employment computer technician.