Meet AIDB's Warehouse Supervisor Robin Cooper! We recently sat down with him to talk about what makes him feel the most accomplished. Here's what he had to say!

"One thing that gives me a true sense of accomplishment is watching AIDB students use the skills that they have learned during their work experience internship in the AIDB Central Warehouse. It is a wonderful feeling to have the opportunity to impart my knowledge and experience to students. It is uniquely rewarding to know that the training we provide will enrich a young person’s life and positively affect their future.

One of my proudest moments occurred a few years ago after I had trained a particular student for several months. This student came to us through E. H. Gentry Facility’s Work Experience program. He arrived with a positive attitude and an eagerness to learn but very little experience or exposure to a work environment. He was reluctant to even get into the seat of our forklift at first but after three months of instruction and practice, he had become a competent and confident forklift operator. By the end of the semester, he could safely use all of our logistical equipment, including the dock ramp and the lift gate on our truck. He learned to stack a pallet for optimum balance and stability, rotate stock, sweep, front shelves, and maintain a clean and orderly warehouse. When he finished his program at Gentry he went home to Huntsville. Armed with a new skill set and a letter of recommendation, he was hired as a stocker and forklift operator at Sam’s Club. About a year after he had graduated from Gentry I learned through his job coach that he had won the Employee of the Year Award from the Governor's Committee on Hiring People with Disabilities. That news put a smile on my face and a glow in my heart for quite a while."