Tsering

One of the most noticeable things about Tsering is her infectious, enduring smile. It’s an asset she now brings to a position she never had before: a job paying a fair wage, working along with others also in competitive employment.

 

For a decade before 2017 Tsering was paid a subminimum wage while working at a sheltered workshop in Minneapolis. In July of that year she made a decision that would change everything. Tsering decided to leave the sheltered workshop to achieve her personal goals, one of those being a job that would pay at least minimum wage. Community Involvement Programs Supported Employment Services was ready to help. During her meeting with CIP, she apologized as she tried to hold back smile after smile while talking about other dreams, including moving out of her family’s home. Achieving that goal, she realized, would require more income and steady hours.

 

Tsering, as well as members of her close-knit family, met with her employment consultant over two weeks to discuss her skills, special interests and community businesses she would like to work for. Less than a month later, Tsering got a chance for a fresh start and was offered a job at a Hampton Inn in a suburb near the one where her family lives. Her job title is public area inspector, which means she is responsible for ensuring public areas are clean to meet the company’s goals for outstanding guest service and financial profitability.