Volunteering is your chance to: Earn school credit or community service hours. Explore types of work you might like to do in the future. Gain skills and experience while expanding your professional network. Connect with future employers. Find a mentor who can help you start or return to your career.

This month’s News and Views feature celebrates the achievements of Jesus, a Ticket to Work program participant whose passion to “pay forward” the support he had growing up with Spina Bifida led him to a career in public service.

It’s important to remember that work is work, not play. And it can be challenging to find a job and keep it. But take heart: it’s a big, exciting world of work out there with a wide variety of job opportunities, job types and needed skills.

This blog is written for young people with disabilities moving from school into the workforce. It may help you think about the benefits of connecting with a mentor, as well as finding guidance and planning a career with help from Ticket to Work.