Support from NSITE helped Joannah Harris gain build the confidence and connections that led to opportunities for a fulfilling new career path.
Harris, who lives in McKinneyville, California, earned degrees in computer science and mathematics. She became a high school math teacher and taught summer robotics courses. But after about four years, her vision changed.
“I had to take some time off for medical reasons and have some operations,” she said. While adjusting to her new normal, Harris’ twin sister encouraged her to go back to school. Harris applied and was accepted to Johns Hopkins, graduating with a master’s degree in computational mathematics in 2022.
“I was really excited to take some of those new tools that I learned and apply them to the job market,” Harris said.
Unfortunately, her efforts to reenter the workforce collided with a job market that was shifting from the Covid era, with ample work-from-home opportunities, back to an in-person approach.
“All of those great remote jobs that were out there were dissolving in front of my eyes,” Harris said. “That was really frustrating for me because I put in a lot of applications.”
Harris estimates she submitted about 300 job applications without gaining much traction. She reached out to NSITE for support and connected with NSITE’s Senior Specialist for Talent Acquisition Maurice Crittendon and Sourcing Specialist Stacey Pope.
“They were just so interested in my story, and so willing to work with me that it was an inspiration,” Harris said. “It gave me that extra motivation that I needed to keep putting myself out there, keep working on that resume, keep working on that cover letter, and develop those skills that I needed to get into an interview.”
NSITE worked with Harris to help her fine tune her personal brand and practice translating her impressive skillset into a succinct message via mock interviews with feedback. “That really allowed me to be able to see my value and see the potential that I did have. They took that time to kind of lift me up.”
Harris said NSITE offered incredible support as she continued her job search. She currently has two part-time jobs, one at Dell and the other at Level Access. In both roles, she is working as a digital accessibility specialist. She credits NSITE for helping lead her to both.
Through this job search process, Harris also pursued education through the Blind Institute of Technology, learning about digital accessibility and earning a Certified Professional Accessibility Competency (CPAC) certification.
“I’d always used the technology,” she said of magnifiers and screen readers, “but I didn’t really know that there was actually a career path there.”
“When I had the chance to go in for that interview with Dell, I went in there and I nailed the interview. I have never gone out of an interview feeling so positive. I had a similar experience maybe two or three weeks after my Dell interview, because I got an interview with Level Access.”
NSITE helped make the connections that led Harris to that role. Crittendon suggested Harris chat with NSITE partner Tanner Gers, founder and managing director of AccessAbility Officer.
“When I was talking with Tanner, he was saying, ‘Oh, you got your CPAC, cool. You know, I don’t have any openings at my company right now, but I’m also going to CSUN. Are you?’”
Harris didn’t know much about the assistive technology conference put on by California State University, Northridge. But she looked it up and made a decision.
“Based on that connection, just that brief, maybe 20-minute conversation that I had with Tanner, I got interested and curious. It was close enough to where I lived, and I could catch a flight.” She packed a bag and flew down with her guide dog, Vista.
“I got the experience of traveling with my dog, getting the professional wardrobe, and using skills I’d learned from NSITE to give my elevator speech,” she said. “I met a lady named Cathy Sherry. And in the two minutes that I met her, she gave me her business card.”
The two kept in touch. Sherry supported Harris in seeking freelance work with Bosch, where Harris earned rave reviews, then connected her to Level Access.
“I’m just really excited to be waking up every morning and doing this work. If it wasn’t for those connections along the way, I would not be here,” Harris said. “Maurice and Stacey were great at letting me know that I had value, and that, even though I had low vision, I could still pursue the things that I wanted to. It didn’t have to define me as a candidate. I do normal things, you know, I just have to do them a little bit differently.”
Harris said she can’t thank NSITE enough.
“It’s a wonderful organization and a really valuable partner in my search and overall goals, and I think that’s something that I’m always going to carry with me,” she said “As somebody with low vision, sometimes we feel sort of isolated, because we’re not seeing everything in the same detail that everybody else is, you know? But NSITE allowed me to regain that focus and really see the value for me as an individual.”