Building Her Business

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Thursday, July 24 2008

Building Her Business

Allison Wright - larger >>

Allison Wright runs her own framing business. She also has Down syndrome. New government programs are now encouraging people with disabilities to work while they continue to receive federal support. In the past, disabled people who earned income were penalized by having their benefits withheld.

Allison and her dad, Edward, started a micro-business inside Edward's framing company. They got a micro-loan from the government, which Allison used to buy a specialized carving tool. Her next step was to hire her first employee, a business manager.

Edward Wright

Allison and company now pitch new clients, fulfill orders, and design new products. Dick Gordon talks with them about the challenges and rewards of their new enterprise.

• Find out more about Edward and Allison's business

Courage on the Court

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Wednesday, July 23 2008

Courage on the Court

Dejon Bivens

Dejon Bivens is a young tennis player whose star has been quickly rising. Dejon fell in love with tennis in high school, earned the No. 1 ranking for an 18-year-old in North Carolina, and steadily moved up the list of Top 100 Junior National players in the country.

Dejon talks to Dick Gordon about how he has overcome a difficult family life - and how he persevered to win the N.C. Junior Davis Cup with an injured hamstring.

Dejon on the court - larger >>

Dejon's foster mom, Deborah Foster-Smith also joins Dick to talk about how Dejon's smile persuaded her to let him move in, and what she has done to help him along the way.

• Check out Dejon's tennis stats
  

From Behind Bars to Passing the Bar

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Tuesday, July 22 2008

FROM BEHIND BARS TO PASSING THE BAR

Mark Baum, Serena Nunn, and Sam Sheldon

Serena Nunn was nineteen years old when she was arrested in a drug bust. Her boyfriend was the dealer, but she got sixteen years behind bars. Her story doesn't end there. She was released from prison early, and she graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in the spring of 2006. Dick Gordon talks with Serena and her lawyer, Sam Sheldon, about the mandatory sentencing laws that put her in prison and the rare presidential order that got her out. 

Immigrating to the U.S.

Rodolfo Acevedo

Four U.S. Citizenship & Immigration buildings are being built in Florida. The lead architect for the new structures knows what it's like to pass through one of these centers because he's an immigrant himself.

Rodolfo's ideas for the new immigration center come directly from his own experiences. The new center will include play rooms for the children, an internet café, and lots of work space to keep the staff comfortable.

• Find out more about Rodolfo's work
• View computer renderings of the new U.S. Citizenship & Immigration buildings designed by Rodolfo

Music heard in this story: The 28th President by Steve Rapson for the album Patriotic Guitar

Left Behind

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Monday, July 21 2008

Left Behind

Joshua Bertelson, Cari Bertelson, and Maryann Williams

When Joshua Bertelson first spoke with Dick Gordon, he was 9 years old. His dad, an Army medic, had just been sent to Iraq for the second time. According to a Pentagon study, nearly 180,000 children have a parent serving overseas.

Now that Barack Obama and John McCain are talking about appropriate troop levels for missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, Josh's story continues to have resonance: what effect does the prolonged absence of a military parent have on a child?

Josh talks to Dick about how hard it is not having his dad around.  They're joined later by Josh's mom, Cari, and one of his teachers, Maryann Williams.

• See pictures of the family when Josh's dad, Bret, returned from his deployment