Perhaps no one is more surprised than Jake Whyler over the turn his life took when a surprise offer led him down a path where he lifted himself up while elevating the lives of some of society's most vulnerable.
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Several years after he was lured away from a lawnmowing job and into disability services, the 22-year-old West Tamworth opener has spoken about his "rewarding" life.
"It's a great job," he said, adding: "It's exciting to get out of bed in the morning and you get to make a difference in people's lives."
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After leaving McCarthy Catholic College following year 10, Whyler started a horticulture TAFE course.
"And a new disability organisation [Kirinari Community Services] had just opened up and they were looking for someone to mow lawns," he said.
"And, well, anyone can push a lawnmower. So I thought, 'I'll take it'. And I ended up moving into doing disability work [at Kirinari]."
Initially, Whyler said he was "chucked into it and learned on the run", but then he did relevant TAFE courses.
He now augments his work at Kirinari with work at Sunnyfield Disability Services. He has been in the industry for some six years.
Whyler said he juggled both jobs "because when you work with clients for so long, you don't wanna stop working with them."
He continued: "Never in a million years did I think I'd be working in it [disability services].
"I didn't know what I was gonna do. I was hopeless in school, and I thought I was gonna be stuck mowing lawns for the rest of my life.
"But, thankfully, I got given an opportunity to work in disabilities - and, yeah, I love it."
On Saturday, Whyler will play for West Tamworth in a one-dayer against Old Boys at Riverside 2.
Weather permitting, it will be only the second completed round of a COVID-delayed, water-logged season.
After starting in fourth grade at Wests, Whyler is keen to cement a first-grade spot.
Elsewhere on Saturday, South Tamworth and North Tamworth clash at Riverside 1, while City United and Bective East meet at No 1 Oval.
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Mark Bode
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
