Tenacious, steadfast, and determined are the three characteristics to describe our Refugee and Migrant Services Employee Development Program participant of the month, Syafig Ai Lin.

He entered the United States as a single case while his family awaits approval in Malaysia. Although Syafig Ai Lin knows very few people and yearns for his family, he does not let this impede his success. While in our Employment Development Program, this young man never missed an English or Job Readiness course. At Job Day’s volunteer outings, every organizer was thoroughly impressed with his work ethic and always requested that he came back. This recognition eventually aided in Syafig Ai Lin’s employment journey as one of the volunteer projects’ reference letter helped him get his current job. When hel would meet with our Employment Team he was not shy on expressing his career goals. He was a machine excavator in Malaysia and is adamant about continuing his career here. The Employment Team explained that his career goal is not realistic right away as his English is not quite proficient but they found him a job as a groundskeeper at a Senior Living Center.

Syafig Ai Lin has been happily employed there for eight months but is not giving up his aspiration to have a career in Kansas City as a machine excavator. Recently he was in our Employment Office asking about next steps on pursuing his career goals. Our staff helped Syafig Ai Lin research what is needed to become a machine excavator and found that he needs a CDL license. He is now signed up for a CDL orientation at Johnson County Community College! His dedication to his goals is admirable and our Employment Team is excited to see where he goes next!