Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown and Lindsay Griffin-Boylan, president & CEO of the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce, standing at left, watch a video created by three students from Northeast Sight Services during a summer program called MY WORK. Seated at right are the students, Harrison Kolc, Kristina Ramos, and Drew Lapchak.
Shown Friday morning after the MY WORK graduation ceremony in the Think Center in downtown Wilkes-Barre are, from left: Paul Stevenson, Chamber of Commerce events intern; Amy Feldman, Northeast Sight Services; Lindsay Griffin-Boylan, president and CEO of the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce; Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown; MY WORK program graduates Drew Lapchak of Mountain Top, Harrison Kolc of Wilkes-Barre and Kristina Ramos of Ashley; and Kris Ahearn, youth program manager, Northeast Sight Services.
Kristina Ramos of Ashley, Harrison Kolc of Wilkes-Barre, and Drew Lapchak of Mountain Top celebrated a milestone on Friday morning, as they graduated from the four-week MY WORK program sponsored by Northeast Sight Services.
As its name suggests, MY WORK is all about being part of the workforce.
And as Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown suggested during the celebration, he hoped it was also fun.
Seventeen-year-old Harrison, 16-year-old Drew, and 20-year-old Kristina nodded in agreement. They had enjoyed working together and practicing new skills.
The trio, each of whom has a degree of vision loss, worked at the Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce, where they created an animated character and a video in which the character talks about fun aspects of downtown Wilkes-Barre, such as the Rockin’ the River Concert Series.
The character looks like a strawberry walking around on two legs, and they’re calling him Berry. Or maybe it’s Barry.
“He’s anthropomorphic, a strawberry man,” Kristina said, adding that his name is a pun that sounds like the second half of Wilkes-Barre.
“And he’s wearing Stevie Wonder glasses,” Harrison said.
For a change of pace, the students also worked outdoors, picking up litter at Kirby Park.
There hadn’t been much litter to pick up, Kristina told a reporter, sounding almost disappointed.
Friday’s ceremony, held at the Think Center in Downtown Wilkes-Barre, completed the program for the students, who listened to several speakers praise their work.
“They embraced new experiences and worked hard,” said Kris Ahearn, youth services director from Northeast Sight Services.
“Watching you take this journey and grow into young adults is such a privilege and honor for us,” Amber Phillips from the Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services said.
Chatting before the program, Joe Lapchak of Mountain Top said he was glad his son, Drew, had the chance to participate.
“We were wondering how we would introduce him to the workforce, and this was fantastic,” Joe Lapchak said. “It built his confidence in being around new people and being responsible. It’s a great stepping stone.
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