For 30 years, Baruch College’s Computer Center for Visually-Impaired People has known that the power of digital technology could also be the key to freedom, independence and a paycheck for the blind or visually-impaired. This is certainly the case for Warwick’s own, Tom DeLuca who graduated from Mount Saint Mary in 2006 and has been working for custom software development company, Parse3, ever since. Each year, Baruch College and the Metropolitan Placement Consortium recognizes employers for granting equal employment opportunities to the blind and visually-impaired, and today Peter Ladka, founder of Parse3, received a “Breaking Barriers Award” for doing just that.
With the support from The Commission for The Blind and The Visually Impaired , AVI , a simple screen magnifier and some typical on-the-job training, Tom was ready to go to work upon graduation and Parse3 got themselves an enthusiastic 10th member of their team that year. Since Parse3 is located in the heart of the village of Warwick, it even became easy for Tom to walk back and forth to work each day. Since that time, Parse3 has grown to be one of the larger employers in the village and Peter attributes his company’s success to several factors, but most especially to the exceptional work of development team members like Tom .
On receiving an award for employing Tom, Peter replies, “Tom deserves this award more than I do. He has been able to overcome difficult challenges his whole life. We feel very lucky to have him with us. I hope any attention that comes from this encourages other employers to have an open mind about employing anyone with disabilities.”