Hi, my name is Patricia M. Peck

This is a story about me and where I came from.

I was born January 26, 1984, in Bogota, Colombia, which is in South America. David and Angie Peck adopted me when I was 1 year old. They became my mom and dad. When I came home to the U.S.A., I already had an older sister and brother, Tammy and Russell. When I was 9 years old, I asked for a brother or sister. I was 10 and a half when my sister Ona came into our family; she was 7 years old. When I was 16, my brother Aleck came into our family; he was 2 and a half. Both Aleck and Ona came from Lithuania.

I went to Southwestern School and graduated in 2004. When at Southwestern, I volunteered at many different places, but my most favorite volunteer opportunities were working with children. I would like to someday get a job working with children again, but until then, I will be happy just volunteering, which I do once a week at the YWCA. I help out with the two-year-olds.

I work at The Resource Center’s building on Jones & Gifford Avenue on a cleaning crew. TRC’s Supported Employment staff helped my get my job. I love my job because it keeps me busy, and I like being busy. I have met new people, some of which have become my friends. Some of my new friends and I get together every other Saturday to hang out and to plan parties and community outings. We call our group the SNAP group. We have gone on the Summer Wind cruise ship and have planned parties at each other’s homes. I really enjoy being part of this group!

I also work at TRC’s Jamestown Work Center. I requested to work in the workshop because I wanted more to do during the day and I like making money. Mostly I work on jewelry boxes.

In my free time, I enjoy bowling and roller-skating. I also like to play basketball with my brother. I like to read and do needlepoint. I like to watch movies and listen to music. I listen to all types of music, but my favorite music is country and soft rock.

Someday I would like to live independently in the community and maybe even get my driver’s license. I have a lot of work to do before I will be able to do either, so I work with TRC’s Individualized Services to work on improving my skills.

One of the things that I like to do is watch movies. My favorite movie is “The Dukes of Hazzard.” I also enjoy watching “Walker, Texas Ranger” on television. I’m involved in Special Olympics and play basketball and bowl. When I’m bowling, I like to bring in my scorecard to work so everyone can see how I did. I like to go out to eat when I get the chance, and some of my favorite places to eat are McDonald’s and Burger King. My favorite stores to shop at are Wal-Mart and the Dollar store.

I get upset when someone makes fun of me or calls me names. Laurie helps me to feel better when I get upset.

I work at the Jamestown Work Center five days a week, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. I do good work and enjoy making boxes. I also like to work because I get a paycheck every Friday. I am very methodical about filling out my time sheet, so it often takes me a while to do it. I buy an ice tea every Friday and let staff know as I see them that I have gotten it. Sometimes I will eat too fast or too much and have a stomachache, and I need to be reminded to slow down. You can often find me carrying around a small backpack that is packed full of everything that I think I might need. I don’t like getting rid of things.

I also like spending time with my friends at work. My closest friend at work is Kim. I go to Speech Therapy twice a week and Occupational Therapy once a week. Often times when someone will ask me a question, I will say, “I don’t know,” even if I do know the answer.

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Every day, The Resource Center and TRC Foundation support Tricia and thousands of other individuals with disabling conditions to lead fuller, more enriching lives and to experience opportunities that would have been considered impossible not too long ago. Please support our mission by making a financial contribution - you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you made a difference in the life of a person with a disability. Click here or contact Karen LaSota, at (716) 661-1518, or send e-mail to trcklasota@alltel.net.