After several stints in the corporate world, I felt dissatisfied. I wanted to do work that made a difference in peoples’ lives, so I began exploring. I was initially attracted to the work of the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation because of its mission to research human abilities and use the findings of that research to help individuals find satisfying, successful career paths. Johnson O’Connor, our founder, believed that this would ultimately lead to a happier, more productive society. What a vision! The combination of psychometric research and its application to the real world of work and education was fascinating to me.
In college I became intrigued by the concept of Maslow‘s hierarchy of needs and self actualization. Its connection to aptitude assessment became obvious to me once I began explaining test results to clients. Growing up in an intellectual but emotionally unstable family, my needs for stability, security and intellectual stimulation have always been profound and working for the foundation has satisfied those needs.
One day, the president of the Foundation at the time, George Wyatt, called me into his office and asked me what my career goals were. I told him that I didn’t know for sure, but I really enjoyed working for the Foundation. He said “Why don’t you make this your career? You’re obviously well-suited for this work.” I took his compliment to heart and followed his advice. I’m now celebrating my 37th year at the Foundation, twenty-five of them as the Director of the New York office.
I’m proud and humbled that I’ve been able to help so many people move closer towards self-actualization by understanding their own aptitudes. The positive feedback I have gotten from clients over the years—and still get—continues to make me feel good about this work. The teenagers that I worked with when I first started here are now often the parents that are bringing in their own teenagers for aptitude testing. It is a wonderful, full-circle feeling—a reward for longevity and a testament to the lasting impact of this service.
~ Steve Greene, New York Director & Director of Public Relations, JOCRF