Photo By 1st Lt. Victoria Schaefer | 210715-N-AA999-001 KEYPORT, Wash. (July 15, 2021) – Bryan Lester, Naval Undersea...... read more read more
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A pair of NUWC Division Keyport employees received awards by the Department of Defense for their efforts in the Workforce Recruitment Program.
Bryan Lester, NUWC Keyport IT Specialist, won the 2020 Judith C. Gilliom Outstanding WRP Participant Award for outstanding contributions as a participant in the Work Force Recruitment Program, while Rob Hollander, Disability and Equal Opportunity Employment Representative Program Manager, won the 2020 Outstanding WRP Recruiter Award for his work in recruiting employees with targeted disabilities.
For more than 20 years, the WRP has been advancing employment opportunities for college students and recent graduates with disabilities. The WRP is a federal recruitment and referral program that connects federal sector employers nationwide and around the globe with college students and recent graduates with disabilities for summer internships and permanent jobs.
“I’m honored by this consideration and deeply appreciate the opportunity the WRP program gave me to prove myself as an employee,” Lester said. “I work with and for great people, and my position has allowed me to live an independent life as a productive individual.”
Lester entered the program at the beginning of 2019 and earned an internship that July. He said he learned about WRP through the Los Rios Community College District in his home state of California, while looking for employment and doing volunteer work for the California Commission on Disability Access.
“Bryan was hired as a summer intern to do a difficult project, and immediately made an impact,” said Dan Baker, Branch Head, Electrical Engineering Applied Technology. “He completed the complex project with time to spare, and volunteered for additional duties. He became so valuable that we decided to offer him permanent employment. He’s a model employee who provides excellent responsiveness to his customers and routinely completes difficult projects ahead of schedule.”
Lester has been a full-time NUWC Keyport employee since January 2020.
Hollander, a Michigan native and retired Navy veteran, joined the NUWC Keyport workforce in 2014.
“I most enjoy the opportunity to promote the equal and fair treatment for all,” Hollander said. “The award really is a testament to the hiring managers who are recognizing individuals with disabilities.”
Before arriving to Keyport, Hollander worked with the Washington State Fusion Center as a Maritime Intelligence Analyst.
“Rob volunteers as a recruiter for the Workforce Recruitment Program, giving his discretionary time to rate the candidates and recommend them for employment in the program,” Baker said. “Since this is a program for individuals with disabilities, some of the interviews require special circumstances. Many of these individuals may have difficulty finding employment, so speaking with someone like Rob, who’s always friendly and encouraging, must be a great relief for them.”
The WRP brings Keyport unique talent from across the country, and gives them a chance to prove themselves in a work environment, where they may or may not have been given a fair chance before, Lester said. In giving these individuals opportunities through internships, Keyport is afforded the opportunity to find dedicated individuals with applicable talents that may otherwise have gone under the radar due to location, circumstance, or simply being unaware of the work opportunities that are available.
About Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport
NUWC Keyport provides technical leadership, engineering expertise, and unique facility complexes that serve to ensure sustainment of undersea warfare superiority for the United States. As one of two divisions of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Keyport’s mission is focused on developing and applying advanced technical capabilities to test, evaluate, field, and maintain undersea warfare systems and related defense assets. These advanced technical capabilities directly support the full spectrum of Navy undersea programs.
| Date Taken: | 07.27.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 07.27.2021 21:03 |
| Story ID: | 401871 |
| Location: | KEYPORT, WASHINGTON, US |
| Hometown: | ELK GROVE, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | KEYPORT, WASHINGTON, US |
| Hometown: | MILLINGTON, TENNESSEE, US |
| Hometown: | NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, US |
| Hometown: | ONAWAY, MICHIGAN, US |
| Hometown: | WASHINGTON NAVY YARD, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Web Views: | 395 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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