A Success Story From WADI
Damon Whitt graduated from Henderson County High School and went on to become a coal miner. He worked in the coal mines for a little over a year until the Wild Cat Hills mine that he worked for laid him off due to the mine closing.
He then came to the Saline County Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (WIOA) program in hopes of receiving help to fulfill his dream of graduating from college. He worked with his WIOA Career Planner who counseled him on his career path. With assistance of the WIOA Program, Whitt was provided financial support in paying tuition, books, and fees for his classes. He also received support from his parents who helped with housing and expenses. He was able to start Information Technology classes at Southeastern Illinois College in Harrisburg. He completed his program of study and graduated with Honors with an Associate in Applied Science in Information Technology.
After graduation, Whitt accepted a job at SIC in the Information Technology department where he is now employed in a job that he loves and is currently taking a few IT classes to improve his skills. He is also planning to continue his education in IT by taking classes in the future at SIU. In Damon’s own words:
“I have received significant support from WADI in my career, which has helped me achieve my dreams of graduating from college by covering all of my college fees.”
Damon has gone through this program quite successfully and has a great future in a new career that he loves.
WADI is dedicated to improving the quality of life for their communities. This is accomplished by offering diverse services to the most vulnerable population, in an effort to attain stability. Through community collaboration, these services will be comprehensive and readily accessible.