When Boris arrived in the United States from Ukraine through HIAS Immigration & Citizenship more than 20 years ago, his primary goal was to find a job so he could support his family. Since then, he has helped other new refugees secure employment at the same company he has worked at for the last 23 years.

Boris’ journey to employment began with JVS Career Counselor Rosa Simon, who assessed his English and referred him to ESL (English as a Second Language) classes. He already had a high-level engineering degree, but was ready to take on any role Rosa recommended.

“I came to the country with almost no language and not too much experience in anything except sales, which I was not able to do having the language barrier,” Boris said. “Rosa helped me at every single step, assuring that I would be taken care of. She helped with my resume and setting up job interviews.”

Rosa found a company with Russian owners and other Russian-speaking employees that had an assembly/disassembly position available in its warehouse, and that’s where Boris started.

“He was so grateful,” Rosa said. “He said, ‘I love that I’m working and that I can support my family.’”

Over the years, Rosa would check in on Boris: he was promoted several times from his general laborer position—where he sorted computer equipment, and eventually learned to do everything in the warehouse, including data entry, forklift driving, computer testing, and managing different teams. Boris became a warehouse manager for a single location, then advanced to be the company’s director of operations for three locations.

Rosa would contact Boris when the company had open positions, as she was representing several job seekers she wanted to place. Boris arranged interviews for roles in the warehouse, accounting and IT departments, and ultimately hired Rosa’s candidates.

Boris has hired about 25 of Rosa’s job-seeking refugees over the years, providing the perfect opportunity for him to show his gratitude for her role in helping him secure his first job.

“First and the most important is the quality of the service provided by the organization and Rosa Simon personally,” Boris said. “She is the most caring person I have ever met in my life.