Jamilah Abdulaziz

December 2011

Jamilah Abdulaziz

For GW Commercial Services team leader Jamilah Abdulaziz, cleaning at a federal contract site is more than just a job. It’s a passion.

“I love my job,” she says. “Even when I’m off, I talk about my job. Goodwill just is a good place to be.”

Jamilah came to GW Commercial Services, an AbilityOne Authorized Provider, seven months ago through the help of a job coach. She had been unemployed for three years, staying home to take care of her grandchildren. “I wanted to change all of it. I got tired of waiting on a (disability) check every month,” she says.

The job that Jamilah now loves started part-time and was a learning experience in endurance. Cleaning a large federal building requires walking, bending, stooping and constant physical labor. At the time Jamilah started, she was 75 pounds heavier, and the job was physically challenging.

“When I first started, it was kind of stressful. My body hurt a lot,” she says.

But Jamilah, who utilized the medical insurance that came with employment, worked with doctors to receive treatment for her knees and ankles and soon was employed full-time. She enjoyed her job, and her work ethic, determination, aptitude and self-confidence helped Jamilah advance quickly. She saw an opportunity available for team leader and was determined to advance. She asked her supervisor not once, but twice, for an opportunity to try out for the position. Soon, she was given a 2-week trial period that led to her promotion to team leader, a first in GW Commercial Services.

GW Commercial Service’s promotional program, called Steps to Success, has six levels of achievement and tests an employee’s competency in janitorial tasks and soft skills that include an employee’s knowledge of Goodwill values and leadership. Generally, supervisors say that most employees can advance about one level a year. Jamilah is the first person ever to advance directly from the first level, which is an entry-level position, to the sixth level, which is team leader, in less than a year.

“She knows what the customer expects and what’s required of us. She proved herself, not only in competency of janitorial tasks but the way she is with her team and the way she makes them feel,” said Breeanna Bongayan, employee resource and development specialist for GW Commercial Services. “It’s not that she settles because she pushes her team. But she knows their potential, and she does it in a way that’s nurturing. It makes the work environment so lovely.”

Jamilah, who has bipolar disorder, says her determination and drive to succeed come from the strength she has gained from facing adversity in life.

“I had no self-esteem years ago. And I have built my self-esteem back up to be the person I am. When somebody gives you a chance in life, you’re able to do what you really want to do and succeed,” she says.

“God’s the one who woke me up for what I’ve been through,” she adds. “I was in a wheelchair back in 2007. I was living with my dad. My dad kicked me out, and I had nowhere to go. I wound up in a shelter, and I was crying – boo hoo – and feeling sorry for myself. I was very suicidal, and I was in and out of the hospital. And one day, I stopped complaining and started thanking God more for everything, and things started changing. I got my apartment that I didn’t have. At the apartment, they had furniture in the basement that other people had left. You know, God will bless you if you stop complaining. Allow Him to bless you, and watch what happens.”

Jamilah now is reconciled with her father and describes herself as energetic and happy all the time. She’s set her sights on a new goal – achieving her high school diploma at Goodwill’s Excel Center, a public high school for adults. And she knows that her life has changed permanently.

“I feel on top of the world. For once in my life, somebody gave me a chance to prove myself, who I am, what I’m capable of doing, and it feels good to actually have people listen to me,” she says. “I’m proud of myself; I’m proud of my team members; I’m proud of my job; I’m proud of what I do. I’m proud of getting up every morning to be responsible.”

See her video