ALAN
COLONIAL FIRST STATE
It’s March 16th 2017 and a young man
with Aspergers Syndrome has found
himself main stage at the Rivoli theatre.
This was the last place he expected to be
when he woke up that morning, watching
the shoulder length hair he’d grown over
a lifetime fall to the ground as the razor
buzzed above him.
But to ask the young man himself, doing it
was a no brainer - it was a chance for him
to do good raising money to fight cancer.
So he hopped up on stage to cheers, got
his head shaved bald and did his part.
That’s just the kind of guy Alan is.
It’s a heck of a long way from the young
man who entered DVJS in 2009 unable to
look anyone in the eye.
Alan is a prime example of what’s possible when you
give someone a chance – and why ongoing support for
our clients is core to DVJS.
From the moment we met him, Alan was always a
genuinely nice young man, well spoken, empathic and
passionate that everyone in society gets a fair go – but
his Asperger’s Syndrome made it so many people never
saw beyond his barriers. Alan even believes that some
of those people focused on what he couldn’t do, were
the very same ones he’d come to for help.
Alan credits DVJS as the first job agency that actually
felt like they cared.
Alan wasn’t just able to work, he wanted to work and it
showed! Problem is, a journey isn’t over in a single step
and life has a funny way of getting in the way of the best
of plans.
So Alan took on any position he could, from farming
to detailing cars, didn’t matter how outside of his
wheelhouse it was, he was willing to give it a fair go
and when he found the right environment he thrived.
Only problem was life kept happening, circumstances
beyond Alan’s control – but he’d keep moving forward
and he kept growing. To the point that the young man
who couldn’t look his case manager in the eye could
later be a star salesman at a JB Hi-Fi.
And that brings us to now.
Alan was pretty nervous about this interview with
Colonial First State, as much as he’d done he’d never
worked with financial matters before and this was an
organisation that have been trusted experts for decades.
Colonial weren’t just looking for someone with the right
experience though, they wanted the right person and
after the interview - Alan didn’t know it yet, but he had
that job in the bag.
Chantel McCrae , HR Manager for Colonial First State
was just blown away by what a genuinely authentic man
Alan is and told us that she’d never met anyone with his
passion before.
In this role Alan feels inspired, he’s making the long
trip to work every day in his nice vest and learning,
growing and he has a smile on his face going to work.
How many of us can say that?
If you or someone you know only sees the barriers when
they think of disability - even if they themselves are
dealing with it. Ask us about Alan, ask us about people
like Alan and maybe you too can change someone’s life.