My Story: Richard Lopez
May 10, 2010 | By Jenni Baker | 
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Richard Lopez is Goodwill Industries International’s 2010 Achiever of the Year.
One morning after about a three or four-day binge, my wife and I decided that we needed to have a change in our life. I looked at my children and they were getting older. They were starting to understand that we weren’t there for them a hundred percent. They knew that we would go to the garage, go outside for a little walk, or go in my room and lock the door. I believe they knew exactly what was going on.
Through church, we got involved with like-minded people that had lived the lifestyle that we had. They helped us understand that addiction is a choice, and that we were just making bad choices in our lives.
After learning how to live sober, I started looking for work. I went to about 16 jobs before I landed at Goodwill Industries® of Central Texas. I qualified for their disability program, where they were able to give me a lot of training. I didn’t know how to turn a computer on. I didn’t know what Excel was. I didn’t know what software was. They put me in the mail room, and I started to learn a lot.
Richard Lopez supervises the mailroom at Goodwill Industries of Central Texas.
Eventually, I was given a great opportunity to be the leader of the mail room. I handle a couple of license plate contracts for the state of Texas. I make sure that my employees scan and label outgoing license plates correctly, and that there are no issues processing the data. I always try to be an encouragement to them by setting an example.
I believe that if you always do what you’ve always done, you’re always going to get what you’ve always gotten. Goodwill has really helped me and my family accomplish a lot of our goals in life. My aunts, my uncles, my parents, my cousins–they’re very happy and proud of me. And they see me in a different light. I’m ready to move forward and accept more of the opportunities that I know are going to come our way.
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