Doug’s Background Story
After graduating from Southeast Community College with an associate degree in electro-mechanical technology, Doug worked as a maintenance man for 9 years in the Omaha area. Without warning, in 1995, he lost his vision and went from being sighted to fully blind. He did 6-7 months of rehab and then spent 7 years looking for new employment. Three years after losing his vision, he welcomed his twin daughters into his life. He wanted to return to the workforce with this new addition to his family. He came across Outlook Nebraska in 2002 and started employment with First Star Fiber, where he ran the case packer. When Outlook Nebraska separated from First Star Fiber in 2008, he became a manual packer until the wrapper machines were purchased. He took on the challenge of running those machines until 2011.
In 2011, Doug returned to school at Bellevue University and started working as an adaptive technology trainer at Outlook. In May 2012, he earned his BS in Business. Doug continues to help grow the adaptive technology program into what it is today.
In 2015, Doug got a new family member when he flew to New York to train and meet his dog guide, Phineas. Because of Phineas, Doug has become very independent and even flies to supervisor training classes independently.
Finding Purpose With Adaptive Technology Training
When asked what the best part of his job is and what advice he would give someone new to vision loss, he said, “When a client has an aha moment and then gets the technology they are training on. I love to see my clients achieve their goals. Don’t give up. It might seem to you that you can’t do anything after losing your vision, but the technology is out there to help you do everyday tasks. You just need to search for the right people to help you. I thought that way until I found Outlook and got to messing around with technology. What you can achieve is amazing if you just give it the effort.”
We loved having Doug and Phineas on the Outlook Enrichment team. Doug touched many lives during his time at Outlook and will be greatly missed.
