WERCing Woman Award of Achievement - 2008
Irene Zajac
When was the last time you were forced to look for full-time employment unexpectedly? When was the last time you were a homemaker working part-time now faced with the need for a sustaining paycheck so you could support your two children? When was the last time you found that the world outside of your front door was not what you remembered it to be? This is what many of the women we serve face.
We easily recognize the obstacles that come with no education and or other obstacles, but we sometimes cannot understand the challenge of having an education that isn’t working in our favor in finding employment. Often the women we serve do have higher levels of education, but it reaches back 10, 20 and sometimes 30 years. Sometimes their education isn’t relevant in today’s labor market.....or the jobs do not relate to their degree. Now compound this with the new dynamics of the labor market. We all know that we have seen enormous changes in our local business scene. We know that human resource issues are quite different and clearly more complicated than the previous personnel issues. We understand that resume building, interviewing skills, and understanding work cultures is more than a challenge.....it seems like a foreign language.
Today we are honoring a traditional displaced homemaker, Irene Zajac who has successfully and with great determination overcome all of those obstacles while transitioning her family life to that of a single parent. She did so with a quiet, yet persistent tenacity. Irene has established a balance of family and work responsibilities that works well for her and her children. She provides the role model that she wants for her children to replicate. She demonstrates daily that goals can be achieved through hard work and commitment.
I have a hunch that Irene would be the first say that her journey has been an eye opener.....that it has had its ups and downs....that some hurdles took more than one attempt to overcome. And, I am equally sure that she would tell you that a significant part of her positive movement forward was possible because of the support system she found at WERC. While the computer skills are certainly key, it is the soft skills and the guidance that is provided that keeps those rough days at bay. It is having the opportunity to rediscover your strengths and make them work for you.
It was 2002 when Irene first came to the Center.....now six years later, she represents all of those women who started their journey by taking one small step at a time. She has turned her job into a career. And, we know she is far from done.