“Meet Nicholas. He has a girlfriend,
a great career and loves his life. He also has Down Syndrome,” reads a
billboard on Dewdney and Garnet
Street.
On the billboard is Nicholas
Popowich, a Regina
man who is passionate about raising the profile of people living with
disabilities.
If you’ve visited the SaskTel retail
store in the Cornwall Centre you may already know him. From customer service to
inventory, Popowich keeps the place going.
“I stock the accessories, and I keep
all this clean,” he said pointing to the mass displays of cell phones.
He also runs all the back-end
processes. He keeps the stockroom organized, and ensures shipments are logged
and ready to sell.
“I’m all over the place,” laughs
Popowich.
As the new national poster-boy for
Down Syndrome, Popowich thinks it’s important to spread the word that people
with Downs want to work, and can become valuable members of your team.
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“If I didn’t wear this name tag, I’d
just be another civilian. But I wear this I.D and I’m like everyone else, my
brothers my sisters, and my colleagues,” he said.
He’s worked at the store for 2 years
now and his manager, Michael Keck, says he’s proved himself over and over as an
asset.
“He’s fun,” said Keck. “He’s
interactive. He’s always happy, and he brings a little bit of energy in that
way, but he’s also very astute and very organized at what he does. He brings a
valuable role to us.”
He came into the store through a
program with the Saskatchewan Abilities Association. They match people who have
disabilities with employers who can highlight their skills and accommodate
their needs.
“Once that individual might become
an employee of the company, we stay in the game and continue to support the
employer,” said Karen Moore, Regina Regional Director for the Saskatchewan
Abilities Association.
But Keck says it didn’t take long
before they didn’t need the council’s help at all. Once Popowich became
comfortable with his co-workers he was ok asking them for anything he needed,
and that trust has led to friendships unlike Popowich has ever had before.
“Those guys back there,” he said,
pointing to the break room. “They’re like my family. They’re like my family of
all families.”
Popowich says he wants to work at
SaskTel long-term.
He encourages everyone he meets with
Down Syndrome to get their resume together. Not just for the money, but for the
fulfillment you get from going to work everyday, developing relationships, and
building a future.
“I want to work here for 100 years,”
said Popowich. “They’ll hang a plaque in here one day and it’ll say, damn it
that’s Nic Popowich and he did it.”
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