Lompoc High grad gets up-close look at dream job, thanks to city sanitation workers

Jun. 16--Just days after graduating this month from Lompoc High School, Michael Mendek got a taste of his dream job.

Mendek, who is on the autism spectrum, has always been fascinated by garbage trucks and regularly waits outside his home to watch as the sanitation trucks collect his family's trash and recycling.

On June 8, four days after Mendek's high school graduation, a group of Lompoc employees gave Mendek an up-close view of life as a sanitation worker, including a ride on a garbage truck, a T-shirt with the city's sanitation logo, and a private tour of the city's sanitation facilities.

Cara Mendek, Michael's mother, said afterward that her son enjoyed the experience -- evidenced by him wearing his new sanitation shirt for several days afterward.

"He was amazed," she said. "He's been talking about it forever; he's just really happy. I really am thankful for the city, and Brandy [Flint] and everybody that made that happen for him."

It was Flint, a Lompoc treasury/utility billing supervisor, who got the ball rolling.

Flint reportedly read about Mendek's story in a social media forum dedicated to supporting local high school seniors. After that, she began working with other city employees to set about fulfilling Mendek's wish to ride on a garbage truck.

Senior Sanitation Worker Reno Pantoja, who regularly works the route that includes the Mendek home, is familiar with Michael, whom he said often runs out to wave to him when he hears the truck coming.

Pantoja noted that he has had to ask Michael to back away from the truck for safety reasons before, so he said he was glad to hear that Michael got to safely ride on a truck.

Flint credited her colleagues for helping to make Michael's dream come true.

"I'm fortunate to have amazing co-workers, and it was a group effort all the way around," she said. "I'm so glad that the city did this for him, and I think it's awesome. It warms my heart knowing how happy it made him."

Willis Jacobson covers the city of Lompoc. Follow him on Twitter @WJacobsonLR.

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