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WENTWORTH — Talitta Harris, a senior at Rockingham County Senior High School, wants to be a cosmetologist.

Michael Latham, a senior at McMichael High School, loves animals and wants to study wildlife conservation.

Zack Edwards, a senior at Morehead High School, has his eye on the NASCAR mechanics school in Charlotte. He’s already rebuilt the motor on his 1987 Nissan pickup. Though he doesn’t like math or reading, he says he can do just about anything with his hands.

And then there’s Levi Schweikert, another senior at Rockingham High. Ultimately, he’d like to do missions work overseas, but for now, he wants a job as a Walmart greeter.

Levi and the others were among 20 high school juniors and seniors from across the county who attended a job fair for students with disabilities. The fair, held in mid-October at Rockingham Community College, was sponsored by the local unit of the state’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services. The unit serves Rockingham and Caswell counties.

Called “Disability Mentoring Day,” the event offered students a chance to connect with services, resources and employers in the area.

It’s where Levi met Elliott Wilson, a former Walmart greeter who spoke to the students about his disability. He and Levi both use motorized wheelchairs to get around.

A car accident seven years ago left Wilson, 30, paralyzed. Four years ago, he became a greeter at Walmart in Mayodan. Now, he’s working in the store’s electronics department, and he’s thinking about going to college, perhaps becoming a school counselor or a motivational speaker.

“He really made me think that I can do what he’s doing,” says Levi, who worried that, as a greeter, people might rush by and ignore him because he’s in a wheelchair.

Wilson says that’s not true. He found most people to be friendly and cooperative, even as he checked their receipts as they left the store.

“People will accept you as long as you have a good attitude,” Wilson told Levi and the others at the job fair.

Jasmine Dalton has already found that out.

She’s a senior at Rockingham High, where she’s enrolled in the occupational course of study. As part of the program, students are required to work volunteer hours at local businesses to attain their diplomas, said teacher Rita Pearce.

Jasmine did some of her volunteer hours at Wendy’s in Reidsville.

When she’d completed the course work, she applied for a job there.

Wendy’s manager Debbie Stone didn’t have any reservations about hiring Jasmine.

“She’s conscientious about her work. She’s always on time, and she does her best at anything you ask her to do,” Stone says.

Several evenings a week, you’ll find Jasmine frying chicken nuggets or straightening the tables and chairs in the dining room.

Stone says she saw how hard Jasmine worked when she was volunteering.

 “I knew she’d put forth that same caliber of work when she was getting a paycheck.”

Stone hasn’t been disappointed.

For many employers, seeing the students with disabilities at work is all it takes to help them realize the potential they have as employees, says Debbie Ellis, the business relations representative at the Vocational Rehabilitation office in Reidsville.

Another bonus is that employers who hire disabled workers may be eligible for tax credits.

But the ultimate plus is that they usually get reliable and dedicated workers.

“They might not be able to run the register, but they can stock,” Ellis says. “They might not be able to design a landscape plan or run all of the equipment, but they can plant seeds, pot and care for plants. They might not be able to manage a restaurant, but they can bus tables and do dishes.

“What we do is try to get employers to look at what they can do,” Ellis says.

“If employers would give people with disabilities a chance, I think they’d be really pleased by what they have to offer.”

Contact Myla Barnhardt at 627-1781 Ext. 116 or myla.barnhardt@news-record.com.