Malacko has an Eye for Detail
By Zoe LinefeltEver wonder how those lipstick or eye shadow displays at makeup stores are made? Many of them start as sheets of acrylic, a type of hard, clear plastic. Because large companies like Maybelline, Clinique, Estée Lauder, Revlon, and L’Oréal buy these displays for their stores, it’s important for them to be perfect. That’s where DarLing Malacko comes in!
Malacko is an Acrylic Fabricator for Integrated Point of Purchase (I-POP) in West Palm Beach. Three days a week, she inspects sheets of acrylic before they are cut and assembled into products that are shipped around the world. She peels the plastic coating off and shines the acrylic while checking every inch for markings, fingerprints, or scratches.
She loves working at I-POP because it gets her moving and keeps her mind busy. “It’s cool, because I always wanted to make things, and even though this wasn’t the title of the job I was looking for, this is really right up my alley, so it’s really good!” she said.
Malacko has a disability and receives services from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities.
Mark Silva, Vice President of Operations at I-POP, is especially impressed with how quickly she learns new skills when they need help. “DarLing brings a great work attitude. She takes tremendous pride in her work and is always willing to do more. I feel she not only works well on her own; she makes other people around her work well, too!”
Last summer, Malacko hadn’t found the right job yet and heard about a company that was looking to hire people with disabilities. After coordinating with her job coach, she was invited to tour the I-POP facility. She was hired on the spot and started working there two days later.
She had never seen a warehouse before, and even her mom was surprised at how fast she was hired. As Malacko put it, “She was just so surprised, and she’s so proud of me that I kept this job!”
In her free time, Malacko is very active in her community. She bowls and plays bocce for Special Olympics, is a greeter at her church, and is learning Spanish and Creole from her coworkers. Malacko also enjoys doing activities with her companion, who she says is like a best friend.
She believes it’s important to have a job to save money and become responsible and succeed in life. To someone with a disability who’s nervous about interviewing for a job, she would say, “Not everything is a piece of cake, but just be yourself, stay brief, have a smile on your face, and talk as if you’re talking to someone that admires you. Everything is going to be OK!”
DarLing Malacko cleans and inspects sheets of acrylic at I-POP in West Palm Beach.
DarLing Malacko loves her job at I-POP.
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