An interview with Free Minds member Deontae, by Makenna, Free Minds Communications Intern. This interview was originally published in Volume 13, Issue 2 of the Free Minds Connect.
Discipline, determination, and attention to detail: three values that have made all the difference in the success of Free Minds member Deontae’s work in quality assurance and his prospective career as a therapist. I had a chance to connect with Deontae and get to know more about his work life as a junior supervisor at a meal kit and food delivery company, a job he obtained shortly after he returned home in October 2023. Deontae’s strength of character and purpose truly shined through our interview as he gave insight into his leadership role and future plans.
It’s so nice to meet you, Deontae! I’ve heard you work in quality assurance. What is your typical workday like?
Okay, so, when I come in, I do scale verification. I verify that the scales are weighing everything properly. Then I got a set of 12 tasks that I have to do when I go onto the floor after my pre-operations. So I work in the lab, and what we do is we go out and make sure the air temperature is at 35 degrees at least, except the freezers… the freezer is -1 sometimes. Sometimes it gets really cold in the freezer.
I check the temperatures from the floor… and I make sure the temperature is proper there and before any other production of liquids can start, I have to verify that the portions are properly measured. So I take my scale that I verified when I first came in and I weigh the portions, then I’ll sign off on it. Before any production can be started, it has to be signed off by quality assurance.
Then, I go into the main production floor where they actually prepare the meals that are going to be shipped to the customers, so I gotta verify that each ingredient is correct. And I have to make sure that every ingredient that goes in the meal is in the bag… then, I sign off on that meal. My next step — and this is just when I come in — is to go down the shipping line and make sure all the proteins and the meal bags are in the correct slot.
And I do all this before 7:00am. I get to work by 5:30am, and I leave at 4:45pm.
Wow — that’s a long day. Do you ever work in a team or are you mostly working by yourself?
[Laughs] That’s a good question! I’m supposed to work with a team, but as of right now there’s only really two quality assurance people on my shift… some people don’t like working in the cold… 35 degrees all year round. I wear a scientist lab jacket, and I have my head covered and a full mask to keep your face covered.*
What’s your favorite part about your job? You have a huge leadership role as a junior supervisor.
It’s a lot of responsibility, but I like it. It’s an awesome job. The only thing is the cold but… you get used to it. I get to use a lot of stuff I learned inside in the real world. I worked the entire time I was incarcerated, so I learned a lot of different trades while I was there. It lets me know that if you use your mind that you can make a change. You know there’s a stigma, and they usually wouldn’t have someone from prison doing this job, but now they let us do it, so I’m glad.
Have you experienced any challenges being in the position of a junior supervisor? It seems like you have a lot of responsibilities on the team and so early in the morning.
Yeah, dealing with the GMPs, which are General Manufacturing Practices. I have to enforce rules, so like if I see a person that doesn’t have their vinyl gloves on or if I see a person without their hair net… or I see a person on their phone, I have to enforce the GMPs. Sometimes people are like, “are you gonna snitch on me?” And I’m just like, “I’m just enforcing the rules.” It can be rough sometimes because not everybody has that working mentality.
What has your job taught you? About yourself or about life in general?
It taught me that progress takes time, but if you apply your skill set and do a good job, you can move fast because I moved up pretty fast. Also, I value insight that you can learn from one another.
How do you maintain a work life balance? What is that like for you getting up so early — how do you find balance?
I’m not gonna say it’s difficult, but once I get off everything I try to do within maybe three hours from 6:00 to 9:00. So I try to eat when I’m out, come in, work out, take my shower, and read. It’s a lot of discipline, but what I’ve learned is that this is going to be necessary for anything in life. Anything that you want to earn in life, you have to work with. I found there’s a lot of job opportunities out there. But I’m in a good position now because I think the quality assurance and quality control, and the pay is really, really good. And I’m building up my resume.
Do you have any advice you’d like to offer folks who are getting back on their feet, who want to do something similar to what you’re doing?
Just stay focused and make a plan. If you don’t make a plan, it’s gonna be hard for you, very difficult, because there’s so many obstacles. Whatever it is you want to achieve, you have to work on it. I would say take it a step at a time. Count the little things, the blessings that you have. I’ve been home since October 18. I got my social security card, my birth certificate, and my IDs all done and was working the next week. So it wasn’t even a month before I started working. I’m focused on my goal, so once you stay goal oriented it’ll help you build like a template, how you want to do things, how you want to achieve your goals.
Can you tell me about your other career goals?
Right now I’m going to work here for a while and I’m doing a certification to be a therapist. I’m in the third part of my training. It’s a year-long program, and they provide housing and everything, so I’m going to stay out here and I’ll probably take some online classes. I like doing what Free Minds does, helping people.
That’s wonderful. Best of luck to you in this program and at your current job. Thank you so much for speaking with me today!
*At the time of printing, five people have joined Deontae’s team. He is now training them.