Danny Schieffer spends his days patting people on the back — literally and figuratively.

“You did a good job,” he said to a discouraged client, patting his shoulder.

Schieffer, who works with people with intellectual disabilities to help them perform better at their jobs, was visiting a client who is employed at the Waterfront Hy-Vee to offer support and encouragement on Monday.

Schieffer, a 20-year-old and 2008 graduate of Columbus Community High, is a job coach for Goodwill of the Heartland. Once the program has placed someone in a job, Schieffer works to give his clients tips on how to make their work more efficient. He also coaches people who have other employment barriers, such as a physical handicap.

“He’s an excellent guy,” said Posey, a Goodwill job-development specialist. “He always has a smile on his face and good energy.”

Schieffer relates his job to a supervisor position. He starts his day at his office, where he prepares for the day’s sites, which vary each day. He has clients at Hy-Vee, Pay Cap, the IMU Iowa House, and the New Pioneer Co-op, among others. Each client can work at numerous places.

Those he works with can range in age from right out of high school to people in their 60s. As long as the person is capable of doing the work, he or she will be accepted, he said.

Because he has to deal with many varying aspects, he has learned to be patient.

“He catches onto things very easily,” said Carol Carlson, the assistant program director of employment services at Goodwill. “He can step into any situation and do what needs to be done.”

Schieffer said his job offers no shortage of rewards. In one memorable month of coaching, a client went from rolling 20 rolls of silverware per three-hour shift to 80.

“It’s kind of hard to see someone struggle,” Schieffer said. “You really want to do the work for them or give them a white lie, but my job isn’t to tell clients they do a good job when they aren’t.”

Instead, he says, he offers them moral support and teaches different techniques specific to the client, noting what may work for one person will not work with everyone else.

The best part is seeing clients succeed.

“It feels amazing,” Schieffer said. “You know you’re making a difference; it makes it all worth while.”
He also said it is important for his clients to know their work is important.

Schieffer plans to keep his position as a job coach even while attending Indian Hills in the fall. He will major in aircraft maintenance and work for an airframe and power-plant license that will allow him to work on aircraft, a skill he was introduced to while serving in the U.S. Air Force.

It’s a challenge to learn more about disabilities or different ways to teach something as simple as wiping a table down, he said.

“He is one of the greatest working guys I know,” Posey said. “What a diamond in the rough.”