MEET Yrasel Ramirez: Employ 210’s First Success Story

A San Antonio native who graduated from John Marshall High School, Yrasel Ramirez spent two years studying at Palo Alto College facilitated by Project Access. Offered to students with intellectual disabilities, Project Access provides pathways to higher education along with skills for gainful employment.

“I loved it there,” Yrasel said of her Project Access experience. But when it came time to start job-hunting, she encountered one barrier after another. “I’ve been looking for a job for like 10 years,” she explained. “I applied to a medical office and the interview process did not work for me.” In addition to being inflexible about scheduling, the office canceled Yrasel’s interview without notifying her. “I logged into the interview and they never showed up on Teams,” she lamented. “It was a frustrating process.”
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Still determined to find a meaningful job, Yrasel visited Morgan’s Multi-Assistance Center (MAC) — a San Antonio-based center that improves the lives of individuals with disabilities and special needs through comprehensive and coordinated services. “Someone who worked at the MAC [and helped] with job searches referred me to Employ 210,” she said. “I saw this as an opportunity to get a job. Being unemployed is the worst.”

Once connected with Employ 210, Yrasel enrolled in one of the grant-funded program’s job-training “blueprints,” — customizable programs that incorporate hands-on learning and simulated workplace scenarios that prepare candidates for employment with partnering businesses in San Antonio. Spanning four weeks, the program Yrasel selected is geared for candidates seeking employment as a research investigator with the nonprofit San Antonio Community Resource Directory (SACRD).

“Resource investigators identify organizations that are a good fit for the SACRD website and ensure that the directory is up to date with information that will help community members,” Employ 210 Lead Special Research Associate Sierra Stegemann explained. “They decide whether or not an organization is ‘SACRD worthy’ and review the 10,000-plus listings in the directory.”

“I love the training and I’ve pretty much enjoyed everything,” Yrasel said of the Employ 210 program. “I feel more confident with researching websites and how to navigate the sites on the SACRD website. I didn’t know how to do all of this research before.” 

Once Yrasel’s training wraps up in early March, she’ll be poised to submit her application to SACRD. In the longterm, she says she’d love to work for University Health System one day as an administrative assistant or researcher. (She’s also an avid photographer and loves capturing sunrises, sunsets and everything in between.)

Reflecting on her status as Employ 210’s first trainee, Yrasel said, “The training with Employ 210 is really helpful with finding a job, learning new skills and just advancing things you’ve just learned to do.”
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