Workforce Recruitment Program Employee Spotlight

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. -

Lindsay Measel is featured in a spotlight for National Employment Disability Awareness Month in October. Measel is a Team Leader for Service Maintenance Cataloging for J-34 at the Hart Doyle Inouye Federal Center in Battle Creek, Michigan, and was a participant in the Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP). WRP connects federal and select private-sector employers nationwide with college students, graduate students and recent graduates with disabilities who are eager to demonstrate their abilities in the workplace through internships or permanent jobs.

Can you tell us about yourself?

I'm married to Jonathan Measel, who is also a previous WRP student, and I'm a mom to two kids. I have worked for the federal government for 22 years. I'm a hard worker and a fighter. I try to go above and beyond for anyone. If I don't know the answer, I will find it.

What aspect of your current job gives you the most personal satisfaction and why?

My personal satisfaction with my job is that it allows me to help people out. I help catalogers with issues arising with the services, finding tech data for them and assisting them with questions. I have a lot of teaching in my blood since both my parents were teachers.

Can you tell us about your experience with the WRP and how it helped you secure your current position?

The first WRP experience in 2001 was amazing. I worked in a characteristics area that taught me about tech data and what we do for the warfighters in the end. The second WRP experience, in 2002, was amazing as well and I was their tracker who assigned the characteristics tools project to employees and closed them out once they were completed with it.

What motivated you to apply for a position through the WRP?

I was encouraged by a college counselor at National Technical Institute for the Deaf College in Rochester, New York.

What is the best piece of advice someone has given you?

My Grandma Hogan would always say, "Keep your eyes open and your heart full because someone could use a helping hand."

What advice would you give to other students or recent graduates with disabilities who are considering applying for positions through the WRP?

Jump at the chance because it could be your future job in the end. When I first started at the HDI Federal Center in the summer of 2001, all I had was a bike to get me around town for 10 weeks, but I learned about what it would be like to be on my own in a city with no friends or family close by.

What kind(s) of training and education helps your work performance in your current role?

I would recommend taking any Microsoft classes and training classes offered on site. That really helped me understand the cataloging job. Learn from the folks who have been at this job for years because the knowledge is gone once they retire.

How do you stay motivated and overcome challenges in your work, and what strategies have you found to be most effective?

I stay motivated by learning as much as I can and it is helpful to talk with other team leaders for their opinion and advice. Overcoming work challenges takes talking to the services and working with them along with the liaisons on hand. That has really made things easier.

How has your experience with the WRP and your current employer influenced your perspective on disability and inclusion in the workforce?

My team in J34 has been welcoming with learning about the deaf culture and asking me all sorts of questions about disability.

Where do you see yourself five years from now?

I hope to be a supervisor one day.

Tell us something that most people might not know about you.

I was born at 26 weeks and only weighed 2 pounds, 3 ounces. I fought for my life to get to where I am right now. I'll keep fighting until my last breath whether with work or with life. I know I can do this even with hearing loss. My hearing loss does not define me, it made me stronger as a human being. I believe God gave me hearing loss so I could realize that this is not a loss - it is a gain - and use it as a teaching experience for others to learn.

What is your best memory of working here?

I pretty much had all my big moments in life here: getting married, being pregnant, having my kids. I loved having my kids next door to my job when they were babies to five years old, knowing they were near me. I have a great group of people that I work with who are amazing folks.

What is your favorite quote?

One of my favorite quotes is "Never be ashamed of the scar." It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.

For more information about hiring throughout the WRP, email [email protected] or contact the local EEO office.

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