Mick Malec: enGen's Commitment to Hire People with Disabilities

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender.

All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers.

Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Hi everyone in the United States, North America, South America, and around the world. Welcome to the show, you know, around the world. Oh, I love working with the U.S. State Department, and I have my dear friend in Brazil, Richard Roberts, such a champion he is. Gang Yeon Cho in South Korea, same thing and great friend. Cheryl Harris right in D.C. at the State Department. Here's her most famous thing. Although I met her virtually in Tunisia, because the other places I mentioned, I went there in person. Most famous thing, she's from Beaver, PA. Okay, that's her claim to fame. Then Indonesia, Veniamin in Kazakhstan, Panama, everyone, I want to thank you because we have 17 countries with listeners. From China to Australia. Uh, and, and I just want to say, if you are in a country and there is only one of you— in Saudi Arabia, for example— that one of you can change the world. Just spread the news to other English-speaking people with disabilities, because, you know, I always say You know, I live with epilepsy. A seizure is a seizure no matter where you live in the world. So, we've got to all try to spread the news and work together to see quality of life for people living with disabilities. Yoshiko, shout out to you. Wait till you see my Disability Pride tree in my office with— yes, you're ready for this, Yoshiko— I ordered a replica of Justin Dart's hat. It's on the top of the tree. And I bet right now you are jumping up and down so excited. I can't wait to send you the photograph. And that's because we're celebrating Disability Pride Month. Such a great month, Disability Pride Month. This year is the 33rd anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This is always my favorite month, and my sponsor for years now, lead sponsor, is Highmark. What a great company they are. I just told someone today at Highmark, you need to use my saying at Highmark for your marketing. Highmark sets the high mark for other companies to follow. And I will not charge you anything. You may have that free. But remember I said this is Disability Pride Month? I have no words to tell you how excited I am about our guest today. Let me go on record for saying He is the real deal. I endorse him, and you know I don't do that often, but he, he is, oh, a champion for people with disabilities. You know why? He hires people. And you know what I said when I spoke at the conference last week at Disability:IN? Don't talk about it. Don't say how great it is. Don't talk about training and sessions. Hire someone. That's where the rubber meets the road, folks. That's where it is. And that is Mick Malek, the CEO of Engin and a great partner and friend. Mick, welcome to the show.

Great to be here.

I get to tell this announcement to everyone around the world. Bender Consulting Services has not had a Technology Champion Award. And this year, first ever, is being presented October 16th in Pittsburgh, to Mick Malek for the work he has done allowing and enabling people with disabilities to use technology to gain freedom. Because when you gain employment, you can buy a house, rent an apartment, buy a car, live the American dream. And that— Mick has caused that to happen.. And we are going to celebrate October 16th because that is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. So, Nick, you're the first. What does it feel like to have this national recognition?

Well, it's very humbling. I mean, it's beyond words. I certainly didn't start working with you, Joyce Bender, for any kind of accolades. I just felt that It was good business. These are good people that do good work. So to me, it was another source. I don't look at it with— as people with disabilities. That's not how I look at it. I look at it as people who have abilities in the IT space, and therefore it just makes all the sense in the world. And now that the workforce is so remote, and no, not on site, it's even easier for us to engage valuable team members that you offer to us. So I'm humbled by it. It's exciting that we continue our relationship.

Well, I too, we are all excited. And in that month, it is going to be press release nationally, and I already have people on board that will be talking about it right here in Pennsylvania. You deserve it because you're doing it. As I said, when people say to me, oh Joyce, you know, as you all know, I own Bender Consulting Services since 1995, a company that focuses on the competitive employment of people with disabilities. And when someone says to me, oh Joyce, it's so wonderful, wonderful what you do, so wonderful. I say, "All right, stop telling me about that. Hire someone." Again, that's what makes the difference, employment. And that's why Mick is so deserving of this. Mick, our listeners around the world surely are going to want to know more about you because remember, some of the people around the world would give anything to work. And so they're going to want to know about you. Would you mind sharing your story, you know, and how you came to be in IT, why you wanted to be in IT, and then what got you to this position now?

Sure. I started probably at the lowest rung of IT. I was back in the day a distribution clerk. Back when a lot of— and some people might be familiar with the term— green bar paper was produced. So it was a lot of printing of paper, bursting, decollating, taking the carbon out of paper, putting it on trucks to send. So I started at the very entry point of everything that was IT. And in all that, I got a lot of breaks. A lot of people took you know, the time to let me get ahead. And, you know, that has allowed me to get to where I'm at. So I feel like in all that, the ability to maybe pay some of that back and give other people a break, a chance that they wouldn't ordinarily get, is very rewarding. So I just slugged my way through it. I needed a job like everybody else. I had a car payment, a mortgage payment. And so I just kept fighting my way through it, through various parts of being a project manager, being an architect, a developer, you name it. I kind of did all those jobs as I moved through the ranks, and it just got me here.

Well, why IT? Obviously you could have left and done something different, you know, in your— when you first began and your career? Why IT? Why did you choose IT?

It's just, you know, just came natural. It's very logical. Everything is very, you know, structured. Either the system is up or it isn't. Either the program worked or it doesn't. It's very logical, very concise. Everything has to have a beginning and end to be successful. With the customer. So I like the logic of it and the way that, you know, there's not a lot of ambiguity when your system's down. You can't really fake your way out of it. Can't tell somebody, well, the system's really up when it— the screen's all blank. So to me, it just was a fit for my personality.

Well, you have quite a great personality, Nick. I've got to tell everyone, this is the greatest story. Okay. I assume most of my listeners know, 7 weeks ago, knee replacement surgery. I'm at the center for the post-op. I come walking down the hall. Who do I see? Mick Malick. Oh my God. I was so excited that I told everyone there what a celebrity he is. Here I am way out there and I see Mick. It was like, made my day. And I had those people asking me if you were like a movie star.

Yeah, in a cartoon, but that's another story, Joyce, for another day. Let's not go there right now. So, you know, it is what it is.

I knew that sense of humor would be coming. I knew it. Well, Mick, at NGIN, how large is NGIN?

Oh, gosh. It's— in what we do, we supply the back office, front office, middle office, side office processing for Highmark Health and other Blue Cross entities across the country. So it's real big. We run 24/7. We process hundreds of millions of transactions a day. Very large footprint, very large staff, and to all aspects of information technology, security, delivery, stability, infrastructure, you do that voodoo that you do so well. So if you name it, we probably got it.

Yes, and you— I don't know if people realize this, but Engine, great name, because you are the engine for all the technology work at Highmark, AHN, Highmark HealthCare. All of it comes back up to you, and all of the other companies that Highmark has purchased or partnered with, whatever, it all comes up back up through you, which Really? Yes, is a lot of work. Do you also work with like outside companies, sort of like the outside Blues if one of them wanted you to take over their work?

Yes. Yes, we have 4 other Blues plans. We do all the same processing for another state. So, and then we have all the operations underneath that, that's claims, processing the call centers, utilization management providers. So it's the coupling of operations and IT, using IT to make the customer provider experience better. So in this world, chances are if something broke, it's my fault. That's what Christina tells me all the time. This is your fault.

I have to say, he's talking about Christina Picone. She is a rock star. She is awesome. And she also is committed to the employment of people with disabilities. I mean, she just makes it happen. I always say that she's the little hammer because we know who the big hammer is. She is awesome. So, I know that you already know that. Mick, and how great it is to have her there. So, NGIN, going back to NGIN, what, what would the services be? Is it sort of like, like EDS, like you just take over the IT?

Yeah, for the most part. Certainly with Highmark, we are the backbone of all that I just articulated. For the other plans, yes, we pretty much supply all the big engines, all the portals, the commissions, the clinical systems, the customer service systems, you name it. We have a very expansive footprint. So the other plans have a minimal footprint, mostly custom to what they need, their analytics type of things. But yeah, we, we supply all things to those plans.

That is Really a big, big job that you have. I did want to ask you a question, though, about IT. When I was teaching at one of our academy classes, I was talking about IT, and this one young person with a disability said, "I would love to be in IT, but I did not excel in math." And I said, "Oh, I don't think you have to excel in math." I think it's more like a sense of logic, and I wanted to ask you, is that correct?

Absolutely. Yes, absolutely. We've been able to do some things here with respect to hiring people that didn't have a degree and change things up. You know, nowadays not everybody can afford to get a degree. It doesn't mean they're not hardworking, logical, smart. So yeah, you know, I did not do well in high school. Let me just put it that I majored in mixology. Let me just put it that way. And then I took— I didn't get my degree until I was well into my IT career. So I come at it from a different angle. Our attitude is if you're smart and you work hard, sure, there's something we can do with you.

And all of you listening to the show right now, especially all of the young people with disabilities listening. And by the way, we— this is my 20th year on Voice America. We are like the number one show and have one of the biggest followings. And I want to thank all of you listeners. I just didn't want to forget to say that. But we have a large listening audience. Of young people. I want to make sure you heard what Nick just said. Yeah, he's the CEO now, but he, like, didn't wake up yesterday and, you know, someone hand— give him that silver spoon and say, here you are, you know, you're CEO. He not only worked for it, he, after high school, went on and got his degrees. What does that tell you? That tells me it is possible to achieve greatness, as Mick said, if you work hard, if you are smart, and I will add number 3, if you believe in yourself. So, you know, look at that. So, you know, you would maybe meet him and say, wow, Mr. Malik, wow, he probably went to like Ivy League schools, and, you know, wow, look at his background. He probably knew people and, you know, and that's the only reason he got— well, it's not. It isn't. And so I say that's a great role model for you. And you don't need A+ in calculus to be in IT. And Mick, you mentioned for those young people with disabilities, you had a program where you will consider someone with a college degree. I mean, I'm sorry, without a college degree, with like associate's degree. Why is that? What made you decide to do that? Because many other people are not. So that's why I'm asking you, why did you do that?

Um, I think the new way of looking at things is the person based on their experience. Okay, experience matters, especially in what we do. When you have experience in IT, you know darn well what you're getting involved with. You have different skills to make sure you run additional tests, you ask additional questions, you get additional clarifications on your work. That experience shows up in terms of assuming nothing and delivering quality. A degree won't teach you that. I'm not disparaging a degree, but those experiences are very, very valuable. And so it's a case of what experiences. Also, what certifications have you invested in yourself? Have you got a certification in security, in infrastructure, in a being a project manager certification? Have you taken those additional steps to invest in yourself and prove that, hey, I can work hard even when it comes to me, how I want to go about being in the business place. So those are the things we look for, as well as, of course, when you talk to somebody, you're looking for that person that gives you crisp answers, that wants to be here and articulates the value they bring in coming here. So it's a different way we go about interviewing.

Well, when you do interview those people, are there other traits you look for? One is hard work. What else do you look for in people?

You know, Joyce Bender, doing this so long, I can read somebody in about 5 minutes. How I've interviewed, what, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 of your people, and I knew within minutes, within minutes, they had the goods, they had the experience. And they were offering value. I mean, after a while, I've interviewed probably 1,000 people since I started this. So after a while, you get to get a sense for does somebody want to be here through the interview? They just doing the interview because going through the motions? So for me personally, I can tell within a very short period of time if a person is going to fit in and generally wants to be here.

Yeah, I know you interviewed one of my favorite people that we hired that will be working for you, and I know that wasn't a long interview, but again, that does not surprise me at all. I think you mentioned to me once, like, to be a project manager at Highmark, you really have to be able to handle a lot of things. Quickly, but I guess that means you also have to have the personality to get along with people. I wouldn't imagine my way or the highway would work.

True. A good project manager, this individual, is really good organizational skills and in some cases a good tattletale. You know, it's like, hey, you know, you told me your project's done and you kind of like lied to me. So maybe either two things: finish your project or start telling the truth. So that'd be a good thing. So yeah, we're looking for people that have integrity, people that once again know how to get the job done, that are very date-oriented, very budget-oriented, very logical. And I was given this thing to do, and by hook or by crook, I'm gonna make sure it gets done. And I did go to Ivy League— Ivy— Ivy soap. I had ivory soap. That's as close as I got to the Ivy League. Does that count, Joyce Bender? I don't think it does.

We're going to count it. That, that ivory soap. You didn't need to go to Ivy League. I'd put you up against anyone any day. And by the way, I have to compliment Karen Hanlon, who just had it right about you. All the time about how great you are and still is so excited, and she's so excited you're getting this award. And you know what, Mick, doesn't it make a difference working somewhere where the people at the top are just nice, caring people?

Absolutely. I, I wouldn't always say they're nice, but I would say is they are committed. They are committed to what we do as an organization. They are the real deal in terms of running a business that can provide value to our members, our customers, everybody else. That always comes through in every meeting. How do we serve the communities we're in? How do we provide value? How do we make sure that people that need healthcare get it? And so, they're very serious about that. There's never a second deviation in that.

Oh, there isn't. You are so right about that. And, and they're not pretentious. I tell this story over and over about how every year— well, we started the company in 1995, but maybe starting in '96 on, or in '95, I started having once a year this I would go for a holiday breakfast with the CEO, and normally it's in their office in that little conference room off from their main area. So I have my executive assistant Carol call David Holmberg's executive assistant to find out, hey, where are we going for our holiday breakfast? Which I knew it would probably be his office. Instead, Carol tells me, oh no, no, he wants to go to Kelly O's Diner. I said, Carol, you made a mistake. He either wants to go to the Duquesne Club, if not his office, or some company's whatever. You better call back. She calls back, no, he wants to go to Kelly O's Diner. And when we went, I I said, David, wow, did you ever notice you don't see other CEOs here? He said, yeah, that's a good point. And that's what I mean though about the leadership at Highmark. It's not like, look at me, I'm so high and mighty. And that's what I love about them. Karen Hanlon is the same way. Deb Rice, you know, really all of them that I work with. And you are one of those people exactly like that. So, Mick, for young people, I know we can't see what's going to happen forever here in the future with IT, but over the next, we'll say, 10 years, do you feel that is still a good career? I had a lot of questions from young people with disabilities. Wanted me to ask about that. So do you hear, if they're going on for their associate's degree or college, do you feel IT will continue to be a hot industry?

Most definitely. There are a lot of aspects, information technology. There's security, there's infrastructure, there's business and being a business analyst. There's coding, there's testing, project— there's so many different dimensions of IT that there's just a lot of opportunity. There just is. And, you know, certifications in all those disciplines. And, you know, employers are looking to hire people into those areas. And once again, we're— almost every one of our IT people is still remote. So there's the physical barriers that sometimes were a challenge for— members of your team, Joyce Bender, they're not there anymore. You know, that's gone, and I don't think those days are coming back. It's the idea of IT companies bringing people back in the office is not there. Now, Google can go ahead and say that, and some of the other bigger ones, they can say that. Saying that and doing that are totally different. And for the companies that aren't Google or the rest of them, you have to offer that perk as incentive to bring people on and keep them. So I think that's all here to stay. And so, yeah, I, I don't think anything that other than it's a rich career opportunity in IT.

I will say a couple of things about that. First, the disability community is saddened that there are many financial institutions that are saying everyone come back. As a matter of fact, we talked to a woman that quit her job. She made $100,000 a year, but she said, "If I have to go back in that office when I have changed my lifestyle with my family, I'm not going back." And I do think that's a perk. That's number one. The disability community, why they're sad, so many were left out for this very reason. I have epilepsy. Someone has epilepsy, let's say they're more in a rural area, well, you can't drive a car. So you can't get to wherever you're going. Same thing if you have a very significant disability and use a personal attendant, you know, you can't go downtown to work. So there are, you know, different disabilities that these people were prevented from having the opportunity to work. So I want to thank you for continuing to keep everything remote because that has opened the door to people that were left out. And I do think it's a perk to many people, and I hope that, you know, other companies, they won't— I don't know how they'll all revert back to that. But if they do, I also know that they're going to lose people. And with that, it is time for our On the Half Hour Newsbreak with Perri Judd-Radesik with the news for this week. Perri, what do we got?

Joyce Bender, I want to talk about changes to how we can expect COVID-19 vaccinations to be delivered and paid for here coming up in the fall when we're all ready to talk about our flu and COVID-19 vaccinations. And up until that end of the public health emergency, we all in the public had access to free COVID-19 vaccines and bivalent boosters. These were all paid for by the federal government and distributed through a variety of locations, including free vaccination clinics. Highmark would have them. Hospital chains would have them. UPMC would have a vaccination clinic. Over 700 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines were given to 270 million Americans. Now, when the public health emergency ended, there was one big substantial change that came through the Biden and Harris's Biden-Harris administration's approach to how the payment and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines would happen. So now vaccines are going to be paid for through insurance, and the administration wants us to go through pharmacies and primary care offices to get those vaccinations. If you're on Medicaid or Medicare, or have private insurance, those companies will now be responsible for paying for the COVID-19 vaccinations, just as those insurers are for vaccinations like flu, shingles, and other vaccinations. Now, we know that there are people who are uninsured, and so they can still access COVID-19 vaccines for free through the local health centers and exist— public health centers and existing public health infrastructure. So, the Biden-Harris administration created what's called a bridge program for access to COVID-19 vaccinations for individuals who are uninsured. There's one other piece of vaccination news if you haven't heard about this. Just recently, an advisory committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended changes to the fall COVID-19 vaccine. The FDA advisory committee is urging, uh, the Food and Drug Administration to update the current bivalent vaccine to a monovalent vaccine based on the new variant of the virus. So what does that mean? It means we would have a single dose that protects us against the new variant, just like how we get a flu vaccine and it changes every fall based on the new flu variant that exists, uh, in the world. And recent studies have shown that any of the previous vaccines that are out there are unlikely to protect us against the new COVID-19 strain or any of the previous variant. Pfizer, as an example, is one manufacturer who has already submitted an application to the FDA for their monovalent COVID-19 vaccine to get ready for the fall. Joyce, advocacy matters all of the time. And so for us, it's about learning new tech— technology, of course, and new terminology. Monovalent is going to have to be the term we learn this fall to vaccinate ourselves against COVID-19. And then we also have to be prepared that we are going to have to go through traditional pathways to get that vaccine, like our local pharmacy, primary care offices, and— and if we might be uninsured at that time through the federal public health centers or maybe our county health offices. So if you want more information about all of these changes and more, go to disabilityrightsPA.org. You can go there right now. That's disabilityrightsPA.org. Click on today's Advocacy Matters segment find links to all of the information we discussed here today.

Uh, Perry, that is awesome. Would you mind, because I already know listeners are going to call and ask me, monovalent, what is that?

Yeah, it means essentially that you're protected against one strain. It's a, it's a one-strain dose of, of the vaccine. Versus bivalent, which many of us had last fall, which protected us against the old virus and the new virus, the new variant. So now what we're finding is that the, the COVID-19 is going to change all of the time. There'll be new variants. And so in order for us to keep up some level of protection, we need to switch to just a one-strain vaccine that protects us against that current strain. Nothing else is, is going to— none of the previous vaccines will protect us against the new strain. So monovalent means a one-strain vaccine.

Okay, that's one strain vaccine. Yeah, that's good to understand. What I would like you to do, uh, Perry, for one of our segments is I know there's a lot of controversy about long-term COVID being now a disability because there are many disabilities that occurred from this. And, you know, maybe we can hear more about that. And the disability community, there have, there have been disputes about the masking because of people with disabilities, if they are, you know, compromised, having to be places or in situations like the train or subway where that is no longer required. You know, if you could get information about that, I'd love to hear about that on one of our segments.

We'll do that next week, Joyce Bender.

All right, thank you, Perry.— and have a— thanks for the news update. So you all know we are the only place in the world— how about that— that gives updates on news as it impacts people with disabilities every week. So that's why so many people are coming to us. But thanks, Perry. Thank you very much. And I guess, Mick, you'll be knowing all about this since you're at IMARC. Yes. I remember when Highmark was so wonderful. I remember at Dick's Sporting Goods when you partnered with them and there you were giving out those vaccines. Who— I honestly, I was worried that this would never stop. It seemed like a year would go by. Oh no, we still have the mask. You know, I mean, this would continue on, and it will be in history books because never in a— never would any of us envision anything as terrible as that. Yeah.

So what you got for me next, Joyce?

Oh, I have so much more for you, Mick. When you, um, when you're talking to a CIO which I'm sure there are some listening right now, or a C-suite executive or just executive level, and they have leaders— now this was said to me when I was at that conference— that are resistant to hiring people with disabilities. What advice would you give them?

Please, please give it a try. So, you know, big companies onboard and offboard new vendors all the time. They just do. That's the nature of the business. Some vendors grow with you. Some vendors don't. People get bought out. You know, it's the whole thing. There's nothing at all preventing giving you a try. There just isn't. It's just good business, as I've mentioned before. So, you know, stop looking at this as people with disabilities and start looking at this as people with abilities. There's an IT abilities here that it's really positive to tap into. So to me, it's not looking at this as, you know, engaging you with people with disabilities. It's people with abilities, and they're bringing those abilities to the table and part of productive important part of the workforce. So as I've mentioned, heck, you know, Joyce, you can share my information with these people and I can certainly spend time with them in telling them the business value and the continuity of services and all those things. I'd be more than willing, as I always am, to talk to people to give them, you know, not the fluffy, we do this because it's, you know, nice to do. Those things come and go. What doesn't come and go What sticks with you is good business.

Yeah, yeah, the business investment. And what if they want to do this? They say, we want to do this, but they notice great hesitancy with the leadership at, you know, that reports to them. Then what?

Well, you know, leading is of responsibility. And so, certainly have to be aware of that, but I can't imagine that anybody out there who brought forth this proposal with a business value, et cetera, would get shot down by their leadership. Put it this way, no leadership I have ever worked for, and I've been in a number of places, whatever demure from the proposition you're offering here, And if somebody would say that, I wouldn't necessarily buy that. I wouldn't necessarily buy that because once again, Joyce Bender, a lot of places, and I can honestly say from my heart, there's no place that would turn this down. No place I've ever been, put it that way. So, and I've been in manufacturing, distribution, um, financial systems, mortgage banking, heck, you name it. So I, I don't always have a I have more than a healthcare background. So I, once again, I would just say give it a try. There's nothing to lose. You bring qualified candidates to the table. You just do. And that's what it's all about.

Well, Mac, you're very— you know, I know from my partnership with you that you are not one that is good with people making a big deal over you, but you're going to have to get good at that because we are going to be making a big deal over you. But unfortunately, 70% of people with disabilities are still not counted in the workforce. We still have double the unemployment rate. So why, why are you like this? Why are you so wonderful and open? Why? Why is that? And do you think, like, your upbringing made you more open and giving? I mean, what— why is it?

Oh, so a couple things. I— we grew up in Detroit. I didn't realize we were kind of poor until I grew up. It's like, hey, what happened here? We're kind of poor. So Detroit Public Schools was a tough school, tough environment. Kind of grew up as a little bit of a tough kid. But it all— one day I was working here and I had a bad day. You know, we all have that. The boo-hoo. It was a boo-hoo. Boo-hoo, I had a bad day. And I saw a gentleman who works for you. And this gentleman was, you know, on crutches. You know, he was a person with disabilities. And he was busing his butt to get to that elevator, to get to that bus, to get home. And when I was walking out, he looks at me and goes, "That was a pretty good day today. Pretty good day today." So, I thought to myself, how tough is my day compared to that? Pretty damn easy. And so, that stuck with me. That gentleman stuck with me. That pretty good day. I can walk to my car and I can drive home. I don't have to wait for any of that. That was the lesson in maybe it's time to look out for others.

Wow. Well, yeah, I mean, I can see why that stuck with you, and that is people with disabilities value work and they're grateful to work, and I so appreciate you giving them that chance. Before we finish up, with Mick Malek, we have what's going on at Bender. So Scott Hammerstrom, what's going on at Bender?

Well, good afternoon, Joyce. Good afternoon, Mick. And thank you so much for having me on your show today. And while there's lots of stuff going on at Bender Leadership Academy, but one of the things is that we are growing and we are hiring a position called the Community Liaison Specialist. So, we are looking for somebody here in Western Pennsylvania. And that person we are looking to, to initiate, foster, and grow community partnerships within our mentor program for youth with disabilities. So, looking for a candidate with strong roots and experience in the disability community and working with the youth and, and develop, help develop positive relationships and coordinate to help grow this program. So, we are very excited about that.

Another great opportunity for a person with a disability to work at the Bender Leadership Academy. Scott, how do they apply for that job?

You can go on our, the website for Bender Consulting, which is www.benderconsult.com, C-O-M, and on there, there is a link for job opportunities. Go on there and look for the community Liaison Specialist under the Careers tab.

All right. Well, also, if you know of anyone, you know, I meet people, they'll say, oh, I want to work at a place like where you are, where you can make a difference. Well, here it is. So if you know of someone that, you know, is looking for that type of opportunity, make sure they apply to the Bender Leadership Academy. Scott, thank you so much, our manager., and leader at the Bender Leadership Academy. You couldn't work for a nicer person. Thank you, Scott, for calling in.

Thank you, Joyce. Have a good day.

Bye-bye. So, a few more questions for you, Mick. Um, and I know I've said this before, Mick, you are just a giant to those of us in the disability community. Joyce Bender, thank you so much for everything you do. I mean it. You are a giant to me. You've done so much in your life and in your career, but what would you say is your greatest accomplishment?

I, I don't think I've had it yet. I have determined that not everybody's kung fu fighting, so that was something that was a big deal for me. Kung fu fighting. I found out that's not actually happening. Not everybody is kung fu fighting. But that aside, I don't necessarily think there's been a greatest accomplishment. I just slug my way through it, you know, just try to do the right thing, try to leave companies in a better place than I found them when it was time to move on. So You know, I don't necessarily have a Mick's greatest hits.

Well, Mick, you did build this whole enterprise at NGIN and turn everything around, and you're a great leader, and I'm sure you were at other places that you worked, but I'm not surprised to hear you say that. But I've got to tell you, Mick, you always bring a smile to my face with some of your things, like Kung Fu Fighting. That is—

yeah, you remember that song, right? Yes, I was fast as lightning back in the day.

Yes, I do remember that very well. Hey, uh, Mick, we have young people that have sent me emails asking me to, you know, to ask this on the show. What advice do you have for someone with a disability who is being bullied so much that, you know, they don't know what to do? What advice do you have for them?

Oh my gosh. Wow. Breaks my heart to hear that. You know, I've not been bullied in my life, so it is tough for me to correspond to that. I— that is so dreadful that people have to go through that and other people take the time to do that. There are so many other valuable things in life to do. You know, that— you know, not having walked in those shoes, I really cannot give a good answer with respect to that other than hold your head high. There are people out there like myself, like Christina, that do not look at people with disabilities. Okay, we're all people, and we try to do that here as much as we could in our practices towards hiring people, moving people along, giving people opportunities. You know, I'm not going to be naïve and think the world could be more like that, but in this case here, To us, it's looking, you know, looking after those less fortunate. I'll go back to the example of that gentleman that I saw walking out of the building. He didn't have a disability that day. He put in his time. He did his work. He achieved what he was supposed to do. There was no disabilities in his achievements. There weren't. He simply was an able person that day doing his job. That's how we want to look at things here, at least.

Well, it's a terrible thing to be bullied, and I have really sad news that I read a report last week that in 2018 they did a survey and two-thirds of the respondents said yes, they feel uncomfortable around people with disabilities. So Here's what I have to say. You're probably working with someone with a disability. You just don't know it. They have a non-apparent disability like me. They have epilepsy or post-traumatic stress disorder or depression or diabetes or MS. I could go on and on, but always remember that you can join my group at any time. You are right now the temporarily able-bodied. So when you're listening to this show today, I hope that you will share it. If you go to benderconsult.com, voiceamerica.com, Spotify, really Apple, all the social media, you can grab this podcast and share it with someone. Tell someone you know, if it's that young person being bullied, if it's someone looking for work and they don't have a college degree and think there isn't hope to find a job, or a hiring manager, another business person, share this show with them. Uh, Highmark is such a great company. I can't speak highly enough of this company, or Mick, or Injin, or Christine, or all the wonderful people I work with there. But make sure you share this because isn't it great to hear good news about employment. So, Mick, what message do you have for our listeners today?

Easy. Invest in yourself. You know, you can't control the world, but you can control your ability to be prepared for the world. So invest in yourself. Take those classes. Get those certifications. Get that education. Get that stuff. You can't— once again, you cannot control what goes on around you in all cases, but you can certainly prepare yourself. And, you know, as anybody else would, as anybody else would. There are a lot of people that are able that do not invest in themselves. They have the same skills they had 10, 12, 15 years ago, and, you know, they're not able to keep up. So, you know, this industry doesn't really matter about that. It matters how you invest in yourself, how you prepare yourself, and do that regardless of what goes on around you. You can prepare yourself to be successful.

Thank you, Mick, and congratulations once again. If you joined the show late, Mick Malek is the first Bender Consulting Services Technology Champion Award winner, which is going to be presented October 16th here in Pittsburgh at Highmark, but in a, in addition, be recognized at the Bender Advisory Board dinner and across the country with social media and the press release. Look, look for that news coming out in October, which is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. This is Joyce Bender, and I end every show with a quote, and here it is today. "Hire people with disabilities, not for charity, not because you feel sorry for them, but because they have great business value," said our champion Nick Malik. I look forward to talking to you all next week with— get ready, next week is ADA Week. That's why we wanted Nick on this month, Disability Pride Month. We're celebrating all month, and next week we'll be celebrating with Senator Tom Harkin. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at Voice America. Www.able.com. See you next week, and in Mary Brooker's words, remember, choose joy.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific time and 2 PM Eastern time for another installment of Disability Matters right here on the Voice America Variety Channel.

We are the leaders in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.