My Story: Aaron Hughes

I had major back surgery, where I had a disc taken out of my back. They took two bone grafts out of my hip. I was on full disability for about eight years. The doctors had said I would never work again, and I gave up on things, started doing drugs and ended up going to prison. In prison, I worked out every day. I started benching 350. When I got out of prison, I wanted to go back to work and get off disability. I went to rehab, and they sent me to MERS Goodwill to help me find a job that would be suitable. I could have gone back to construction, but how long was it going to take before I injured myself again? All I knew was construction — that was all I did most of my life.

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My Story: Robin Wilkins

I was born in Omaha, NE. I really don’t remember too much about my childhood life, but starting around ages 12-17, I found myself out of control. I went through the juvenile justice system, including youth centers and group homes, to help me learn to respect authority. I fell into gangs and violence. I didn’t really like school much, so I had problems there too. As I began to get older, I began to start settling down and trying to figure out what I was going to do with myself. I tried to slow down, go to school and get good grades, and I needed some assistance to motivate me more and keep positive.

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