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Employment Success Story: Holl Miller
Employment Success Story: Holl Miller
Where do you work, and how long have you worked there?
"I have been working for Grand Valley State University's Padnos International Center since April 2022 as their Office Coordinator."
What parts of your job do you enjoy the most?
"In my job, I support the International Student Services Team that works with international students after they have been admitted to GVSU. I love working with international students, especially since I was an international student in China from 2017 to 2020. During my time working for GVSU, I have come across several international students with disabilities. I love that my team encourages and allows me to meet 1:1 with these students to help support them. Even though my work is not an advising role, I am a mentor to several students who look to me for advice on navigating higher education as a student with a disability. In the middle of October, I will give a presentation at NAFSA's Region 5 conference in Grand Rapids with a blind international student who works in my office. Our presentation will be called, "Navigating Higher Education as an International Student with a Disability."
Can you share a moment when you felt proud of your contributions at work?
"GVSU has a total of 686 international students this semester! After our new student orientation, our team is very busy tracking down new international students' documents to report their status to immigration. I decided to build a spreadsheet to keep track of the new students. After weeks of collecting their information, we found there were 235 new international students this semester. I feel very proud that my work allowed the rest of the team to focus on other tasks."
Can you describe how your employment has improved your life outside of work?
"Before my job, I felt very unstructured and unregulated. Realizing that a 40-hour work week regulates me more outside of work is surprising. It is also great that my work allows a few days to work from home a week. I felt more motivated to do other things such as being involved with SAM, cooking more, and having more energy for tasks such as cleaning and organizing my space."
What advice would you give to people with disabilities looking for a job in their community?
"If you are struggling with looking for a job, I suggest looking into your local rehabilitation services to help assist you with your job hunting. It is great to have someone help advocate for you when you feel your voice isn't enough."
What advice would you give to employers wanting to hire people with disabilities?
"Please be open about the idea of hiring people with disabilities and be open to requests for accommodation."