When Joseph Peglow is asked what his career goals are, he doesn’t hesitate in saying he’s going to “be a boss.” Joseph is ambitious and driven. He’s enrolled at the University of Arizona in the Project Focus program where he takes business classes to learn more trade skills and dreams of eventually open his own pizza shop.

A year ago, Joseph applied to MOD Pizza and was hired on the spot. However, despite his excitement about quickly landing the job, Joseph soon understood he would be more successful in the long term with the help of a job coach and so his family reached out to Beacon Group.

He began working with his job coach, Derek Ryder, as part of Beacon’s Supported Employment program. Supported employment allows an individual with significant disabilities to work in the community while receiving ongoing job coaching, with the goal of building natural support within the organization and maintaining employment.

At their first meeting, Joseph and Derek discussed Joseph’s career goals and identified skills needed to reach those goals. With those goals in mind, they jumped right into work. “What we do is, certain tasks, MOD will train him in, and we observe and then when they let us, we start working with him on those tasks,” says Derek. This individualized support has taught Joseph the skills he needs to work more independently and become more efficient at each task.

Joseph was born with Down syndrome, a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21, and while this has no effect on his drive to work and pursue success, manifestations of the condition make it more challenging to perform some of his duties. Derek and the team at MOD recognize this and work with Joseph to overcome these challenges.  When he first started, he burned himself on the dough press, so the team showed him safety techniques to avoid this. When cleaning tables, his towel would leave residue, so they taught him the proper towel fold for a shiny finish. He struggled with remembering the number of beverages that needed to be restocked, so they created a list of beverages for him to reference.

What’s one area he’s never needed support in? Something MOD calls “table touches,” where an employee greets and checks in with diners while they’re eating. It’s Joseph’s favorite part of his job and where his affable and welcoming personality shines through. Derek says Joseph is “exceptional” at table touches, and in the food & beverage industry, this inherent skill in customer service is invaluable.

Joseph’s father, Brad, says the true end goal for Joseph is to gain independence. “I want him to be able to live and function without me. So, ever since he was little, that’s been a goal, just to get him to that point,” he says. Given how quickly he learned many of the duties at MOD, he and Derek agree Joseph is ready for the next step: making the pizzas for customers and operating the register. Although remembering all the ingredients can be a challenge for Joseph, Derek and the team know a “cheat sheet” with those ingredients listed will be an effective accommodation. And since Joseph already excels in the customer service side of the business, they have no doubt that he will soon be excelling in pizza-making as well.