Building a Meaningful Career After Sight Loss With Israel Bolivar

Israel Bolivar is a full-time sander at Vibrant Works, an organization dedicated to providing employment opportunities for people who are blind or visually impaired. He was named the 2025 Peter J. Salmon National Employee of the Year by National Industries for the Blind, recognizing his outstanding work on KC‑135 aircraft floorboards. Israel, who is totally blind and lost both of his hands at age six in Colombia, has overcome significant adversity and serves as an inspiration to others adjusting to vision loss.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[02:23] Israel Bolivar’s incredible story of surviving a life-changing accident
[05:01] What innovative surgery gave Israel a new way to be independent?
[10:38] The reality of job hunting with disabilities post-college
[17:02] Israel’s role as a mentor for others adjusting to vision loss
[26:49] Workplace adaptations that help Israel excel on the job
[36:30] Israel’s advice to keep pushing forward despite rejection or obstacles

In this episode…

Building a meaningful career after sight loss requires determination, adaptability, and the support of employers who recognize a person’s abilities while accommodating for their disabilities. For Israel Bolivar, a full-time sander and aircraft factory worker at Vibrant Works, that journey has been shaped by resilience, independence, and an unwavering positive outlook.

In this episode, Israel shares his powerful story of losing his sight and both hands at a young age after an accident in Colombia, immigrating to the United States, and learning to navigate life with confidence and purpose. He reflects on the challenges he faced after earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology, including repeated job denials, and how those setbacks ultimately led him to San Antonio, where he found meaningful employment and a supportive work environment.

Israel Bolivar, a dedicated member of the working blind community, discusses the importance of workplace accommodations, teamwork, and strong communication. He explains how Vibrant Works helped adapt tools and processes so he could succeed in his role, and he encourages others with disabilities not to fear rejection or setbacks. Through his story, Israel reminds listeners that sight loss is not the end of the road, but the beginning of a new journey filled with opportunity, growth, and purpose.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Quotable Moments:

“If you want something, you make it happen. If it’s hard, you work twice as hard to make it happen.”
“I have to try it before I say no.”
“It’s not the end of the world, it’s the beginning of a new journey.”
“Just because we have a disability, that doesn’t mean that we are not capable of being somebody in life.”

Action Steps:

Approach setbacks with persistence: Rejection can be frustrating, but continuing to move forward creates opportunities for meaningful work and personal growth.
Focus on abilities instead of limitations: Recognizing what you can do helps build confidence, independence, and a stronger sense of purpose.
Seek workplaces willing to adapt: Supportive employers can create practical accommodations that allow employees with disabilities to perform successfully and contribute fully.
Strengthen communication with your team: Clear, respectful communication helps build trust, improve collaboration, and create a healthier work environment.
Keep a positive mindset through change: Viewing challenges as the beginning of a new journey can help you adjust, grow, and pursue success.

Sponsor for this episode:

This episode is sponsored by National Industries for the Blind (NIB), the nation’s largest employment resource for and employer of people who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired. NIB creates opportunities for people who are blind to become wage earners and taxpayers, reducing their reliance on government support and increasing engagement with their communities. Learn more about their impact at NIB.org.

This episode is also brought to you by NSITE, the premier organization dedicated to connecting professionals who are blind, low-vision, or visually impaired with career opportunities. Whether you’re an employer seeking talented individuals or a job seeker ready to take the next step, NSITE provides the resources and support to help you succeed. Learn more and explore opportunities at NSITE.org.

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Episode Transcript

Dean Thompson: 00:01

Hi there. Welcome to the podcast of the National Industries for the Blind. My name is Dean Thompson. I’m your host, and I’ve often considered myself a member of the Working Blind. Hopefully you are too. And if not, this podcast should help. Come listen. Find out something from us. Maybe we’ll help. Hopefully we can.

And my guest today is Israel Bolivar. And Israel is working for the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind, or with the Lighthouse for the Blind. And you are basically an aircraft factory worker, Israel. Am I right about that?

Israel Bolivar: 00:29

Yes. Correct. Well, let me clarify, it is formally known as the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind, but now it’s called Vibrant Works.

Dean Thompson: 00:40

Okay.

Israel Bolivar: 00:40

And yes, I am a full time senator and I do the floorboards for an aircraft that is the KC 135.

Dean Thompson: 00:50

Whatever the KC 135. That sounds – first off, welcome. Thank you for giving us some time and thank you for joining the podcast. I should begin that with you. But thank you.

I appreciate your time. What is a KC 135?

Israel Bolivar: 01:01

The KC 135 is an air fuel craft that basically is. Job is to refill jets in the air so that they don’t have to land. So their task is to fill them up in the air so that they could continue their progress.

Dean Thompson: 01:23

I’ve seen I remember as a kid, I remember seeing these big nozzles. They drift up behind them and they and the fighters come up, and somehow they connect with those two things and suck down gas. It’s kind of an amazing, amazing process. Very cool. How long have you been doing that?

Israel Bolivar: 01:38

I’m actually been here already eight years. I’ve been doing this same job for eight years.

Dean Thompson: 01:46

So you must like it in that case.

Israel Bolivar: 01:48

I do, I actually it’s very interesting how the process, how we start from, you know, boards that are raw and full of like Splinters and other stuff and how it gets polished. And the final touch, you know, it feels actually when you feel the final paint is like glass, like touching glass.

Dean Thompson: 02:11

Very cool. Let’s go back to the beginning. Can you tell me you are, how blind are you, sir?

Israel Bolivar: 02:18

I am totally blind. Okay.

Dean Thompson: 02:21

And how did that come about?

Israel Bolivar: 02:23

I lost my sight at the age of five. Going on six. My homemade. On my home country of Colombia. I was playing hide and seek with my friends.

And I found what was a homemade grenade under my neighbor’s bed. Being a curious kid at the age of six, I opened it and it exploded on my hands and on my eyes, which caused me to lose both of my hands and my all my sight. So I became totally blind.

Dean Thompson: 02:57

instantly?

Israel Bolivar: 02:59

Yes.

Dean Thompson: 03:00

Wow, you were six years old.

Israel Bolivar: 03:02

Yes.

Dean Thompson: 03:03

It’s almost unfair to ask you how you felt at that point being so young, but how did you feel at that point? What was going through your mind when you were aware you were you’re blind?

Israel Bolivar: 03:12

Well, after I had the grenade exploded, I went in a coma for nine months, and once I woke up, I first thing I asked my grandpa was to turn on the lights, and he told me that the lights were off. I mean, already on. Yeah. And so basically, like a little kid, I made a joke and said, oh, I guess my eyes are like the lights on the car. They need to be replaced.

So they could go back to work, you know, and it was, it took me a little bit to adjust to the idea that I wasn’t going to be able to see anymore and do the things that I was able to do prior to my accident. And some of the things that I was able to do was like playing soccer and running around with my friends, you know, and play marbles and jump around. You know, so, so it took me about a year or two years to understand that I needed to change my life, needed to change a little bit. And so, yes.

Dean Thompson: 04:18

It’s a tough thing for someone to do at 6 or 7 years old, though.

Israel Bolivar: 04:21

Yes, yes. Even though at the beginning it wasn’t hard. When I was able to hear my friends run around and play soccer in the streets and kind of like hit me a little bit hard because actually, a month before my accident occurred, I was named the best striker in that town for the soccer teams. So all those awards that I received were like, no good for me anymore.

Dean Thompson: 04:55

Yeah. And then there’s the fact that you also you lost both of your hands.

Israel Bolivar: 05:01

Yes. I actually lost my fingertips all the way to my wrist. I lost both of my hands. And I had to do a surgery where they had to split my forearm into like some kind of like, pincers so that I was able to be independent. This surgery is called Krukenberg.

Spelled K R U K E N B E R G. Krukenberg.

Dean Thompson: 05:37

Yeah. So Krukenberg surgery gave you the ability to actually have some kind of manipulation at the end of each wrist in that case.

Israel Bolivar: 05:44

Yes. It was. My forearm was split in half. The two bones that we have on our forearm was split in half. So that they would have made, like, some type of pincers or, well, I call it my fingers, you know, because they’re my fingers, you know.

Dean Thompson: 05:59

Right. Well, back then, which hit you harder at the age of six? Losing your eyes, losing your hands? It’s almost an unfair question, but can you don’t mind if I ask that?

Israel Bolivar: 06:08

Oh, it’s a good question. I would say my sight. Because I would say that if I couldn’t see well, I play soccer, you know, with because I didn’t need my hands to play soccer. I just needed my eyes to be able to see where I was running. So it probably hit me harder to have lost my sight.

Dean Thompson: 06:32

Well, we talked before. I think it’s easier the younger it hit you. You’ve. I’m sure you’ve met people who’ve lost their sight in their 20s and 30s, and it’s far more difficult for them. Would you not agree?

Israel Bolivar: 06:40

Yes. And actually, I do have coworkers of mine that says, “You know, here at work, I’m a happy person. But when I get home, I’m like, down because I know it’s not the life that I wanted, but it’s something that I had to learn how to adjust to. You know, it’s the reality that I probably won’t get my sight back anymore, you know?” So it’s part of a new life.

Dean Thompson: 07:09

How have you adjusted as we go home and or any time and you have, you know, you are different. You’re different than other folks can’t see. You don’t have your hands. How, how different and how, how depressed you get. Or do you?

Israel Bolivar: 07:21

No, I actually, I don’t get depressed or anything like that. You know, I had learned because my accident happened at such a young age, so I was able to adjust and maneuver everything the way I wanted, you know, and so honestly, being blind and having no hands hasn’t limit me to anything. Like I, I don’t think there’s “impossible,” you know, if you want something, you make it happen. If it’s hard, you work twice as hard to make it happen. But you.

You won’t see me like say, no, I can’t do this. I sometimes will tell you I’m not able to do it. And we’ll find a way to adjust to. So for me to do it. But you won’t see me just say no right away. You had to try it before I say no.

Dean Thompson: 08:16

Well, we all have limitations, for God’s sakes. Yes. I mean, I’d like to play for the New York Knickerbockers, but not only am I partially sighted, but I can’t jump, so I can’t play forward for the New York. Do we have to accept certain limitations? Yeah.

So you’re 6 or 7. When did your family leave South America and come and come to America? How old were you then?

Israel Bolivar: 08:33

Well, it goes back to my accident. My family is. My family is very poor in Colombia. So I was given a chance to get adopted by another couple from Colombia. That couple had kids of their own, and they decided to adopt me and have me feel like their own kid.

And so I was included on their plans to bring their kids from Colombia to the US, basically to give us a better education. That was the reason they brought us here. And also because back then, in the early 90s, my country was impacted by the violence. So they wanted us out of that world. You know, they want us to be at a better place, you know, to be good people, better people in the future, you know, to have a career or something like that.

Dean Thompson: 09:35

So how old were you when you moved to the States?

Israel Bolivar: 09:38

I was 11, yeah. 11.

Dean Thompson: 09:43

And how did that change your life?

Israel Bolivar: 09:46

Well, it kind of changed my life because I needed to learn a new language, you know. And I was actually taken to the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind to do elementary all the way to high school. And I was put in an ESL class, which I lasted about 8 to 9 months, I believe in the class. And I was moved into regular classes because I was able to grasp the English very quick and was able to speak on my own in less than a year. So I was able to adjust to the new language pretty quick. And. Yes.

Dean Thompson: 10:28

Wow. When did you first realize that maybe it was not going to be as easy for you as the average person to get work? When did that hit you?

Israel Bolivar: 10:38

It actually hit me once I graduated from college, from I, I obtained my bachelor’s in psychology. I applied to what’s called the Children’s and Family Department. Three times. All three times I was denied because they said they didn’t have the fundings to provide me with an assistance to help me do my task. And so being denied three times by a government office or something like that. And we understand that it was going to be challenging for me to get a job.

So I heard from Vibrant Works known as the San Antonio Lighthouse for the blind back then. From a coworker that used to be here. And he told me, you know, the lighthouse here in San Antonio gives opportunities of employment for to people who have disabilities. And he asked me, what are you willing to try it? Do you want to make a future? You know, so that you’re able to provide for your family and for your own.

And I said, yeah, you know. I have no choice but then to relocate to San Antonio. And that’s where the opportunity was given to me.

Dean Thompson: 12:03

Let’s go back a second, though. You’re in Florida. You’d lived in Florida now, I guess like nine, ten, 12 years. Did the fact that you couldn’t get work or they wouldn’t give you a chance to work, did it make you angry? And if so, how did you deal with it?

Israel Bolivar: 12:14

Well, it didn’t make me angry, but it did frustrate me quite a bit because I knew I had the abilities and the talent to help others. And because it’s something that I like to do is help and listen to others. So. But it didn’t make me angry, actually. But it did frustrate me and say like, why?

You know, just because I have this disability. It did kind of like make me rethink, is it really going to hold me back? You know, having to lose my hands. Is that the only downfall that I’m going to have. But, you know, I was able to work with my parents in their own family business.

I was able to help customer service, you know, like provide the clients their information. You know, I was able to work an environment that I liked with my family, but it was something that I didn’t study for. I, you know, I went to college for psychology and I wanted to help people. With, you know, listen to them and give them the tools and how to work with their life. So.

Dean Thompson: 13:25

So you moved from Florida to Texas. Was that on the maybe I’ll get a job or were you were you in advance? Were you pretty sure you were going to get some work or some, some, some training in San Antonio?

Israel Bolivar: 13:36

Well, I knew I was in like, you know, I always there’s always a threshold of whether you get approved or you get denied, you know, and it’s something that we have learned when we take math, that you always leave a threshold of being denied or you know, so but I knew I was going to get some kind of benefit, maybe the training or something, or yes, or get the answer that I was capable of accomplishing and finishing the products that we actually do here. So, you know, I came to San Antonio with a very positive attitude. You know, there is something that and actually, Natalie likes this little thing that I always say that I learned from college. My psychology teacher always told us life is like a bank. You know, the more positive you have, the more green numbers you have in your bank account, the positive your life is, you know, and if you have read numbers in your bank account, it’s like, that’s how basically how your life is, you know, negative.

So always in my life has been a positive, positive thing. My wife even goes like “Your level of positivity is toxic. You know, you always have a positive attitude!” I go, well, you know, in a house you can have two negative people because then we definitely will make it, you know? So I’m always been a positive person.

And you know, when I have something in mind, it’s always 100% or 150% positivity that I’m going to obtain, you know, the benefit.

Dean Thompson: 15:17

That’s wonderful. I mean, my father used to say there’s nothing wrong with being positive. It also doesn’t cost any more.

Israel Bolivar: 15:23

So it sure doesn’t apply.

Dean Thompson: 15:25

Can you tell us all who Natalie is? Very quickly.

Israel Bolivar: 15:27

Natalie. She is our. Event manager. No. Oh. Vice president of communications.

Dean Thompson: 15:38

With-

Israel Bolivar: 15:39

Vibrant Works. Yes.

Dean Thompson: 15:40

Okay, good. I understand that. So somebody once told me that they feel I. We kind of use this as a sub category here at the podcast where we talk about the working blind. The blindness either makes you or takes you.

Do you agree with that statement? And which side have you fallen down on that statement?

Israel Bolivar: 15:59

I’m a believer of both.

Dean Thompson: 16:01

Okay, cool.

Israel Bolivar: 16:02

You know, being blind makes you a person that could show the world that just because you have that type of disability, it, you know, it doesn’t make you no difference. It takes you to different places because you get to teach other people about your disability and how is, we’re are all the same. And we could accomplish the task at the same level. It’s just that it takes a little bit longer. Yeah, in different ways for us to adjust to accomplish those tasks, but. So I believe it takes you and it makes you.

Dean Thompson: 16:52

Very nice. Have you been much of a mentor? I know that’s really what you want to do. What you what you went to college for. Have you been able to mentor other folks there in San Antonio?

Israel Bolivar: 17:02

Well, I’ve been able to give advice. You know, people who are learning and adjusting to the fact that they have lost their vision. Or actually, there is a case right now that one of our coworkers has a friend who her friend has a daughter who’s losing her sight right now, and she’s afraid of bumping into the walls and asking for help, you know, because for 13 years, she’s been independent on her own and she’s losing her sight little by little. So my friend actually told her, you know, maybe we could have – oh, because they call me Izzy – now, maybe we could have Izzy talk to this girl and guide her through and how to adjust. You know, her blindness. And because of my disability. I could be an example for this girl. And we’re actually.

And I did have the chance of advising other co-workers who were still adjusting to the fact that they have lost their sight.

Dean Thompson: 18:13

Which is a message I think hopefully folks are listening to us now are, are maybe facing what you faced as a young boy. It’s not the end of the world, is it?

Israel Bolivar: 18:24

It’s not. It’s not. Why not? It’s just like, because I, even though we lost our sight, we develop other abilities.

You know, our hearing, our touch, our smell. We get to adjust to our other senses, you know, and we get to experience all the things we get to learn, all the things that we probably were not able to learn. When we’re able to see and we see life from another perspective, you know, from. We went from the light to the dark, you know, but we get to see the world from another way, you know, another perspective. That’s how I look at it.

You know, it’s not the end of the world just because you lose your sight.

Dean Thompson: 19:14

When I was a boy, I was losing my sight. I went to a neurologist or my father took me one and said, don’t forget. You see with your brain, not with your eyes. What you see is in your head. And therefore you need to see if you’re, if you if your imagination and if your awareness remains high.

Israel Bolivar: 19:28

I don’t know if you know this singer. His name is Jose Feliciano.

Dean Thompson: 19:31

Of course. Yes.

Israel Bolivar: 19:32

Well, one of his phrases is my fingers are my eyes. Yes. You know, we see, we get we learn how to see where our life and the world are through our fingers. Because when we lose our sight, we develop our touch, and also our touch becomes much better. And we get to see, we get to feel and see the world with more details because we’re making actually contact with, with nature or with whatever we have in front of us that is given to us, you know?

So we get to learn it from another perspective just by touching it, making physical contact with that natural part of our environment.

Dean Thompson: 20:20

I’m sitting here talking to you, and I’m looking at the microphone as if I can see you, which I do an awful lot. And but I’m more aware of my hands talking ever before. They’re in my lap. Simply crossed. Just the fact that you’ve dealt with both.

I’m just. I’m blown away. That’s that’s. Do people think you’re amazing and do you think you’re amazing? Do you think you’re amazing for overcoming two major disabilities?

Israel Bolivar: 20:38

Yes.

Dean Thompson: 20:39

Good for you. Good for you. Do me a favor. Let’s advise some people. How would you talk to someone listening to this who is beginning a deal with the loss of eyesight or already has dealt with it?

Talk to them about what next steps they might take or should take. Could you?

Israel Bolivar: 20:55

What advice I give people who are losing or who have lost their sight or not just their sight? You know, any other type of disability is look at life from another perspective. You know, look, don’t look at it from the negative side, look at it from the positive side. And more things are going to come out. You know, things are going to be better or they’re going to be the same, you know, so that’s my advice to people.

Don’t think just because you lose one. Just because you lost, lost your sight. It’s not – or your legs and or your hands. It’s not the end of the world is the beginning of a new journey.

Dean Thompson: 21:44

Let’s talk a second about adjusting to loss of eyesight, loss of your hands. Big adjustment, but just moving. Moving from Florida to Texas. What’s the biggest adjustment you think you’ve had to make in your life so far, Israel?

Israel Bolivar: 21:57

My biggest adjustment in life has probably been, well, when I moved from Colombia, I was very young. So basically my parents are the ones who made our world comfortable once we’re little kids. Once I grew up to become an adult, I started taking my own decisions. You know, like once I graduated from high school, I decided I, you know, it’s time for me to leave the house, you know, so because it’s something that I have learned from the American cultures that some sometimes parents say, once you’re 18 years old, you know, you need to move out, explore the world being raised at a school full of American people or the majority, you know, all my parents tell me that once I turn 18 years old, I need to move out and explore the world. So I said, you know, let me do that too, you know?

So I graduated from high school, moved out to Tallahassee, Florida, went to Florida State University for two semesters, and I got a Florida State University, moved to Tallahassee Community College for a year. You know, then decided to come back to Florida with my parents and worked in their business, continued to go to school for my bachelor’s in psychology. Then when I graduated came the denial part of my applications and then decided, okay, you know, I guess Florida’s not where I’m going to find a job and I need a job no matter what, you know, because for me, a job is a job, you know, whether you’re cleaning floors or, you know, doing whatever is a job, you know. So I was offered the opportunity of moving to San Antonio. And when I moved to San Antonio, I was already prepared because I had already had experience living on my own.

So. And I’ve been always very independent. My own and my mobility skills are very good. I move around, you know, if I need to go somewhere, I take, you know, if it’s an Uber or via trans that is our transportation here. If I need to go to Walmart, I just go to the customer service, ask for help.

I had already kind of had an idea of the Mexican culture because I actually love Mexican food, even though I’m from Colombia. I love everything that spicy tacos and anything. So I was already acclimated to the Mexican culture, you know? So when I moved to San Antonio, it was just basically something that I needed to adjust was to the work environment, you know, because it was really my first official work, you know, so I needed to understand that I needed to follow rules that I had leads and our, my leads. I had a supervisor and over supervisor.

I had a director, you know, so I needed to, you know, adjust to the fact that I was going to be told to do things in which it’s not not bad because I’m able to follow rules. You know, so it wasn’t really that hard to adjust to the fact that I was already here in San Antonio.

So something funny! Little story that happened to me. I moved in with the gentleman that actually gave me the opportunity to hear about San Antonio in the lighthouse. He’s from Honduras.

You know, in Colombia, one of our main products is coffee. So if I get offered coffee, it’s like sending me to heaven. You know, I love coffee. So his sister asked me, hey, Israel, would you like some coffee with bread? I go, oh, bread!

You know, in Colombia we have. The thing is that our bread is stuffed with like, either cheese or cheese and ham and pineapple, you know, something like that. So when I, when she served me the coffee and the bread, I was, you know, I was waiting for like something like a sandwich or something like that. Well, they gave me what’s called pan dulce, you know, like sweet bread. He she gave me a cupcake.

I go and I, I made a face and she goes, what happened? And I told her, well, you offered me some coffee and bread. And she goes, oh, let me explain to you is that, you know, in our culture from South, North Central America and Mexico and all that stuff, we eat pan dulce, sweet bread with our coffee. I go, oh, okay. So it was like the fact that I needed to understand and learn some of the way people will eat, you know, and other cultures.

That was the only thing that I needed to readjust myself to from my culture compared to the other cultures.

Dean Thompson: 26:31

The biggest adjustment was types of bread. Then you obviously fit in very well, very quickly. Good.

Israel Bolivar: 26:35

Well, yeah, the food, you know, like the, traditions, you know.

Dean Thompson: 26:39

Izzy, as a member of the working blind? What’s the biggest accommodation, the biggest change you had to make or your job had to make for you to fit in properly where you are right now?

Israel Bolivar: 26:49

Okay, so let me go back over here at Vibrant Works. When we get an interview, we get a we. They do assessments to see where you actually will fit. And where they started me was as a machine operator to do sewing. I was able to learn how to maneuver the machine that they wanted me to.

And okay, so like, you know, there was a supervisor that was actually looking at me to see because he needed a machine operator exactly for that machine that I was working on. So I passed my assessment and he goes, okay, you’re going with me. But when it came time for me to perform the Operation it required me to use have all my full hands, you know, my five my ten fingers. Because with one hand I needed to tuck in this little leather, this little cloth thingy into the sock and let the machine so it which I wasn’t able to do it because I was not able to have my hands, you know, my complete hands. So then here comes another supervisor and he told me, I’m going to take you with me because I know you’re able to do it.

And so he took me to tinker. That’s where I’m actually the standing part and the craft part. He took me there and I was able to do it. You know, my coworkers were like asking themselves, how is he going to be able to send this board? He has no hands.

How is he going to be able to grasp this sandpaper? How is he going to be able to carry the boards from his table to the cart, and from the cart to the table. So I was able to do that. So some of the changes that they actually had to do to adjust for me to work due to the fact that I’m not I don’t have my hands. I had, you know, when we sinned, we put on gloves so that we don’t get caught or our hand doesn’t get irritated from the sandpaper.

So what they did that they actually made me special gloves. You know, they mold them to my hands, you know, like to the size of my hand, to the size of my fingers. So they accommodated with the gloves for me to do some sanding. That part didn’t work for the sanding because once I put those gloves on, I will lose every single touch, like all the feeling of my hands. And I will not be able to have contact with the sandpaper.

So I left those gloves for another thing that goes later on. So we came to the adjustment of wrapping my hands with some kind of like, I think it’s called 3 a.m. tape or something, some like water tape. So that I wasn’t a, I wasn’t irritating my skin with the friction of the sandpaper. So that work, you know. So step one.

Step number two worked. So those gloves were left for another task that’s where it became. I started as a sand center number one. And I’m a sander number two, which means I’m a machine operator that I’m working the bigger sander, the power sander. And for those, I use the gloves to carry the boards from one side of the table.

Run it through the machine and pick it up and take it to the cart. That is the final step. So before it gets to the blind sanders like me that we have to send them by hand. So those are some of the accommodations that the company was able to do for me so that I was able to perform my, my job, you know, do all the performance that I needed to do.

Dean Thompson: 30:55

Talk to both sides for a second, because both sides being the employer side and the employee side, obviously your employer was aware, took the time, took the effort to accommodate you. You, as the employee understood this, which- speak to both. Hopefully both people are listening to this. Talk to employers first. What’s in it for them to work around and to accommodate somebody with a disability, in your estimation?

Israel Bolivar: 31:19

Something that I would tell other employers to make our job easier and to be able to satisfy our not just them, but our customers, is work with your employees, you know, like may the job area, a familiar area like if if it was, if it was your employees house, you know, like make it a for their convenience, but also have your employees adjust to the environment where they’re working at, you know, so if they work together, I think the environment where you’re working at BAB, basically like, you know, your park, you know? Yeah. So you move around your own ballpark, you know, like you, you know, like when you’re playing soccer, baseball, you know, if you’re the outfielder, you know, where the, if you follow the ball, you actually need to know where you’re going to stand so that you could just reach for your glove and grab the ball, you know? So basically, our work area is our ballpark. So we if our employer and us as employees, we work together.

I think our work environment be perfect.

Dean Thompson: 32:31

Very nice. But let’s talk about non-work based skills. Just people skills, communication skills. Obviously you have them. And where did you get them and how do you recommend those who are listening to the podcast get them themselves?

Israel Bolivar: 32:44

Okay, so I always say that one of the greatest skills that you could have in your work environment, not just as for work, but as a person is great communication. You know, if you communicate among each other and just don’t try to step all over each other and you work as a team, everything be a success. You know, like you’d be successful as a team because a department is not just you. It’s, you know, it’s your whole team, your whole entire coworkers, the whole entire people inside the building. Because whoever’s inside the building is part of your team, whether you like it or not.

And you had to learn how to communicate with them. And because if you have a great communication, you have a very healthy environment, you know, so you are able to work in peace. You know, people are willing to work with you, you know, so I think one of the strongest skills that people should have is communication. And also being a team member, you know, a player with your team, not just a selfish person, just work as a team.

Dean Thompson: 33:57

I think it’s more important for folks, especially blind, blind people to be good communicators. If you don’t reach out, you’re going to be alone inside of yourself, and that’s something you seem to do very well. Do you agree with that?

Israel Bolivar: 34:07

Yes.

Dean Thompson: 34:08

I understand that you were an employee of the year at the last NIB conference. When you found out about that, what did you think about it when you were told you were going to be an employee of the year? How did you receive that?

Israel Bolivar: 34:19

Okay. So yes, it was actually a very great experience in being nominated and chosen as the employee of the year for 2025, But then also recognized as the National Employee of the Year and have received the Peter Salmon Award was actually very, very special, was something that I wasn’t expecting. But it’s funny because I had curiosity of wondering how were the employees of the year’s chosen? You know, I asked questions and I ask this and I ask that from the beginning when I got here and I said, you know, one day I would like to, I don’t know, be the employee of the year. You know, that’d be kind of cool.

I said. And once I got picked as the employee of the year, it was actually felt great because it was something that I always looked forward towards. And, but I wasn’t expecting. I wasn’t expecting to be picked as the National Employee of the Year. But it was an honor for me to represent my company that I work for, you know, at DC.

And I had the chance to also of sharing and spending time with other people who were also nominated in that they were competing as well for this, you know, national recognition that, fortunately, it landed on this side, you know, so I was very honored and I felt special.

Dean Thompson: 36:05

That’s neat.

Israel Bolivar: 36:06

I hope more people get together and just push for those, you know, opportunities and things that we’re asking for.

Dean Thompson: 36:16

That’s wonderful. That’s the keeper in that program. One final question here. How would you encourage people to themselves become part of the working blind? What would you say to somebody out there who doesn’t have work, who is a little bit lost?

Please talk to that person.

Israel Bolivar: 36:30

Something I would advise for those folks who are looking for a job or that they’re afraid of being denied. Don’t be afraid of denial. You know, you know, if you trip, you get up again. You know, life is full of obstacles and we trip. But we had to get up and continue fighting forward.

You know? And if you fall again, you get up again. You know, it’s like we’re like little kids. You know, when we started walking, we fall and we cry and we get up again and we fall again. You know, we’re going to get bruised knee and our knees.

But, you know, eventually those bruises are gonna go away because that chance that you were looking for is actually going to happen, you know? So that’s my advice for people. Just don’t be afraid of denial or falling. Just get up, you know, get up and continue forward and fighting. Because just because we have a disability, that doesn’t mean that we are not capable of being somebody in life, which doesn’t mean that we’re not capable of being successful in life.

That’s my advice for everybody.

Dean Thompson: 37:48

That’s wonderful. Israel, Izzy Bolivar, thank you ever so much for your time and joining the podcast. I really appreciate it. And I would wish you well, but I know you’re going to be well, but thank you very much.

Israel Bolivar: 37:57

No, thank you for giving me the chance and spending this time and, and giving me the chance for being part of this podcast.

Outro: 38:05

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