Success Story: Michael Wylie

Meet Michael Wylie

Michael Wylie was born with Craniosynostosis, a condition in which he was born with a misshapen skull before his brain fully formed. Undergoing 10 different medical procedures over the course of seven years, Michael learned quickly what it was like to be patient and to overcome challenges.

“I had to go through speech therapy,” he says. “Growing up was not fun. The other kids made fun of me, but I did what my mother taught me: to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Doing his best to abide by the Golden Rule and live life to the fullest, Michael played defensive end on his high school football team, graduated on time with a special education degree and met his fiancé, Amber.

After graduating from Habersham Central High School, Michael was referred to Goodwill of North Georgia’s Community Work Adjustment Training (CWAT), where he trained for the workplace in an actual work environment. Goodwill helped him with skills like timeliness, teamwork, hygiene and how to interact with his colleagues. He later visited Goodwill’s career center in Oakwood where he learned of an opening at Lanier Cold Storage. An Assistant Supervisor of 16 freezers, he loves his job and his colleagues.

“All I want in life is to be married, be happy and be able to support a family without worries of, ‘How are we going to make it this week?’ I have Goodwill to thank for that,” he says.

We are proud to have Michael as a Goodwill program alumni, and share his success with others as an example of how hard work and determination can bridge the gap between dreams and accomplishment.