Julie’s story

A huge smile grows on Julie’s face and her eyes light up when asked about her new job at Dale Rogers Training Center’s Papa Murphy’s store. Julie said, making the dough is my absolute favorite. It’s like science. I love science and you have to get the dough done just right.” The community job is a large transition from the DRTC in-house programs she has been a part of for six years. When Julie was asked why she wanted to work at Papa Murphy’s she said, “to better myself, to feel like I’ve accomplished something. It’s my first real job out in the community.”

Julie has grown confident in her work at Papa Murphy’s and learned a few lessons. Julie does the prep work in the mornings preparing the vegetables and the dough. Growing accustomed to prep charts and the fast pace of a retail establishment has taken Julie some time, but she is improving and constantly learning. Part of having a community job is transportation.

Julie rides the bus to work and loves it. Her first day of work she got off at the wrong stop, but Julie was not worried, rather she thought, “I can handle this.” Julie said the “sense of freedom [she] gets riding the bus is well worth it.”

With the money Julie is earning she plans to pay off her medical expenses and purchase her very own laptop and internet service. “DRTC trains you before you jump in on the big day,” said Julie. “I’m reaching my goal. I want to eventually own my own business, owning a bakery is a long-term goal.”

-featured in the United Way of Central Oklahoma Vital Signs Report, 2013