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When Lisa Helma, now the manager of Vocational Rehabilitation at Shirley Ryan Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾, was getting ready to attend college at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, she thought she wanted to become a veterinarian. Helma loved dogs and had always been good at math and science but, after having a part-time position at an animal hospital, she changed her mind. ¡°I didn¡¯t see myself doing this for the next 40 years,¡± she said.
Helma went to the university¡¯s Career Services department because she needed help figuring out a new career path ¡ª and she enjoyed the process so much that it inspired her next chapter.
After receiving her bachelor¡¯s degree in animal science, Helma pursued a master¡¯s degree in rehabilitation counseling. She then spent 11 years as a vocational rehabilitation counselor in the private sector, assessing the career and earnings prospects for people who had acquired a disability while working. Her customers were usually insurance companies or law firms that were focused on workers¡¯ compensation claims or medical personal injury lawsuits.
Helma enjoyed her work but, by the late 2010s, she was starting to feel a little burned out. Then, she saw a job listing for a manager of Vocational Rehabilitation at Shirley Ryan Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾. ¡°It¡¯s the only job I applied for,¡± she said.
Helma was hired in 2019, right before the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pandemic hit, she stepped up immediately to serve patients and build her team.
¡°I started seeing clients myself at that point,¡± Helma remembers. ¡°I also spent a lot of time recruiting and onboarding new hires. We had a fairly new team that was still getting their feet under them. For some of them, it was their first job in the field.¡±
The Vocational Rehabilitation department receives between 800 and 1,000 referrals a year from Shirley Ryan Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ physicians or therapists who think their patients could use some assistance getting back to work or finding a job.
Helma helps all her clients build their confidence, and her vocational rehabilitation counselors and job-placement experts help clients assess their skills, update their resumes and polish their interview responses.
¡°Helping them get back to work helps them get back to some kind of normalcy,¡± said Helma. ¡°Many of them say, ¡®I¡¯m able to see a future now.¡¯¡±
Helma has several projects on her current to-do list. One is to reboot a tutoring program that helps young people pass their high school equivalency test, the GED.
Another is to partner with Shirley Ryan Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾¡¯s Volunteer Services division to help her clients participate in volunteer activities that expand their skills. For example, someone might volunteer in the hospital¡¯s Technology Center, setting up assistive devices or helping staff with clerical duties, which is an experience that could translate to a private-sector position.
Helma couldn¡¯t be happier with her move to Shirley Ryan Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾. ¡°I love working here,¡± she said. ¡°I thank my lucky stars every day. I really like our client population and the difference we¡¯re making in their lives."
Though Helma pursued a different career than the one in veterinary medicine she had once considered, her love of dogs has not waned. When she isn¡¯t at work, Helma keeps up with her 95-pound cane corso pitbull mix named Henry. She went to a shelter asking for a calm dog that she could kick back and watch Netflix shows with but, instead, she got a big bundle of energy.
¡°I haven¡¯t turned on my TV in three years, he is so high energy,¡± she laughs.