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Perspectives

Willie Singleton, Jr. is the Executive Sous Chef at the Hilton Hotel-Airport in Richmond, Virginia. He has been a coworker to several individuals with disabilities during the course of his career, but never a supervisor. Recently, Chef Singleton began working with the Hilton Hospitality Partnership Program (HHPP). This program works with the local school system to assist students with disabilities in exploration and training for hospitality careers.

Initially, Chef Singleton had some concerns. "I was worried about speed, production, and communication", said Singleton. He was able to address these concerns during a HHPP training on disabilities. This training gave the managers a chance to discuss myths, facts and ask questions. The training taught him that he had nothing to worry about. "Give the student a job description, train them and monitor them. With those three things they can achieve success," Singleton stated. When asked what advice he would give to other managers who were considering hiring someone with a disability, he said "If you set up your program for them to succeed they will. Now, I don't even see their disabilities. I just look at them like anyone else."