Passion for golf leads to job prospects
In spite of scarce employment opportunities, 21 year old Nick Powell is turning his love of golf into a possible career.
DAVENPORT - Six weeks at the golf course this spring fed Nick Powell’s golf passion. Nick, 21, of Davenport didn’t tee off each day; he worked at the golf course as part of an internship through the Career Connections Program coordinated by Goodwill of the Heartland.
Through discussion about Nick’s interests and long-term goals, Cherrie Claeys, Employment Specialist with the Career Connections Program, discovered how animated Nick became when he talked about golf. A career at the golf course had not even been identified as an area of interest when Nick participated in the person-centered-planning process.
Nick’s obvious passion was enough to get the wheels in motion to set up an opportunity for an internship. Then this spring, Nick successfully completed an internship at Red Hawk Golf Course in Davenport and has since applied for a permanent job with the City of Davenport Recreation Division.
Now Nick waits for the call from his former supervisor, indicating whether he will be hired to mow the greens and to run the ”golf ball picker upper,” the very tasks that he completed during his internship. If Nick is hired, he potentially will work at sites across the City of Davenport.
A quiet young man, Nick says he wants a job where he works outside and he loves working at the golf course.
Since a job with the recreation division offers the potential for summer and winter work, Nick is fully prepared to spend his summers mowing greens and his winters moving snow. “Snow season is good too. It’s good to try new things,” he explains.
A graduate of Davenport North High School and a self-described nice person, Nick looks forward to one day living on his own and driving an automobile for the first time. He is studying to take the driver’s license test in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, he has operated a gator and equipment at the golf course and has successfully trained and passed testing at Goodwill of the Heartland, enabling him to be certified to operate a forklift.
With the help of Goodwill of the Heartland’s Career Connections program, Nick is looking at a sunny future on the greens and the fairways of the public golf courses in Davenport.
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About Goodwill of the Heartland
Goodwill of the Heartland provides services to advance the well-being of individuals with barriers to independence. Funded in part by 12 Goodwill Stores in southeastern Iowa and the Quad Cities, Goodwill of the Heartland provides job training, vocational rehabilitation services and work experience. The organization served thousands of clients through a variety of intensive and basic services in 2010. For more information about Goodwill services or for our retail locations, visit goodwillheartland.org or call (319) 337-4158.
