Brad landed a part-time job at Covington Box & Packaging in Waterloo in October 2023, a few months after he graduated from Garrett High School, and it didn’t take him long to succeed.
With help from an Easterseals employment specialist, he did so well in his job that he moved to full-time work in June 2024. In November 2024, just a year after he began work, he had progressed so far that he was no longer involved with Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) or Easterseals, his VR provider.
He’s earned that independence, judging from the way his supervisor, Evan Kill, praises him.
“He’s here every day. He does what I ask him to do,” Kill said, explaining that attendance and a good attitude aren’t a given with workers.
“He learns pretty quick,” Kill said. “It’s usually one or two times I show him, and he’s got it. That’s rare these days.”
Brad has learned to run several machines at Covington Box. The company was founded more than 40 years ago and caters to companies that need specialized – and often very heavy-duty – corrugated boxes delivered quickly.
On a recent afternoon, Brad was part of a three-man crew that used machines to finish and stack boxes destined to hold large auto parts. As each completed stack rolled down a conveyor, Brad wrapped it in plastic banding, then cinched each band tight. On each stack — called “bales” once they’re banded — he sprayed a patch on the side with adhesive so he could stick a shipping label on the bale.
On his first day at Covington Box, he learned to use the laminator, a machine which seals layers of material together in packaging.
“It was quite challenging until later in the day, when I got used to it,” Brad remembered.
His mother, Amanda Lemert, looks back to the little boy who was diagnosed with autism at age 4, when he barely spoke, and is amazed at how much Brad has matured since he started working at Covington Box.
“Every evening, he makes his own lunch for the next day. He gets himself up with his alarm, he tells us goodbye, and off he goes,” she said. “He drives and everything.
“You know, this kid has just broken barriers. I can’t believe it either, to tell you the truth. This is remarkable,” she said.
Employment specialist Ayreal Lanman began working with Brad in 2023. Early on, they didn’t find any business that looked like a promising prospect. Then Lanman learned that Covington Box, which employs several people she had worked with before, had an opening.
“They’re great people,” she said of supervisors there. “They care about (employees’) rights. They’re so inclusive.
“Brad went from being very shy and not very confident to being outgoing and confident in his work,” she said.
Although Lanman recently left Easterseals, her efforts with Brad show the impact an employment specialist can have for an individual.
“It took time. She really did help me out a lot,” Brad said.
As an example, he recalls that she made visual charts that showed, step-by-step, how to do the job at each machine he learned.
In that environment, deciding to advance to full-time work was easy for Brad.
“I just wanted to make more money, get more experience, work longer hours, and so on,” he said.
As he’s made more money, he’s taken more responsibility in his personal life, beginning to pay for things some parents still provide for 19-year-olds.
“I definitely do a good job saving my money up and being smart with it,” he said. Among the necessities he pays for: “My car – gas, car insurance – and my health insurance.”
Brad also likes being able to pay for his entertainment, too, such as “buying my own stuff, like video game subscriptions.” He particularly likes gaming on the Roblox platform. “There are a ton of games on there. I’ve played Roblox for over 10 years now,” he said.