HOW DAC NEW CAN HELP YOU GROW

By Anonymous

I first learned of the DAC Northeast Washington (DAC NEW) in 2022 when I was a Sophomore in college. I experienced many mental health struggles growing up and would not have made it to be here today without my support team that I was very privileged to have. To help others going through similar experiences, I have volunteered for Disability Services organizations. I jumped at the opportunity to work as a DAC NEW volunteer between terms.

My primary responsibilities as a DAC NEW volunteer included assisting employees in the operation of resource tables, preparing for events, and maintaining the DAC NEW office. In major events such as Spokane Pride and Disability Pride, I deliver information to other organizations, distribute food, and set up the vendor spaces.

In addition to supporting others, working as a DAC NEW volunteer has enabled me to grow as a person in many ways. I have a social anxiety disorder which has been debilitating for most of my life. My volunteer work requires me to interact with a wide array of individuals, effectively forcing me to confront my irrational anxiety. Over the past two and a half years, I have gone from dreading talking to strangers to feeling completely confident in speaking to attendees and vendors during the 2024 Disability Pride event. Another fear I encountered when starting as a volunteer was that my relatively limited knowledge of mental health and disabilities would result in myself making a major error in performing my duties. That is to say, I was very worried that my inexperience would cause me to mess up badly. This fear led me to frequently ask for clarifications and procedures, something that I previously tended to not do. While I have had conversations that in hindsight I could have handled better, I have never horribly disrupted DAC NEW operations and have learned much about disabilities together with disability services. Altogether, volunteering has taught me to work alongside and provide service to individuals with a large diversity of needs and backgrounds.

I graduated with my Bachelor’s of Science in Physics early May 2024. Due to extended delays in learning my graduate studies admission status, I decided to begin searching for a full time job in the Physics field. When I first started the search I felt completely overwhelmed, particularly in regards to the interview process. To receive assistance in my job search and interview skills, I decided to become a DAC NEW consumer. As a consumer, I worked with IL Advocates on how to navigate an online job board and on the Situation, Task, Action, Result (STAR) interview method. While the interview process has been slow, I have had a much easier time finding and applying for jobs and on the one interview I have so far had, I had an already practiced response to each interview question.

Working with DAC NEW, I have had the opportunity to grow professionally, emotionally, and socially. While I still have room to grow, I will continue to work as a volunteer and consumer for the foreseeable future.

**DAC NEW’s new address after August 5th will be 222 W Mission Ave Suite 230 in Spokane WA 99201