Friendships are not for sale at Deseret Industries, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find them at our locations. Just ask DI associate Blake.

“I met my best friend here,” he says. “We live like three blocks away from each other and never would have met had we not both been led to Desert Industries.”

The story began when Blake was laid off from his job in data analytics—a field he’d been working in for more than a decade. Blake anticipated that he’d be back on his feet in no time, but he discovered that life doesn’t always unfold the way we envision.

“I had an unexpected dry spell of no interviews and no return on applications for months,” Blake says. “I talked to my Church leaders about any additional resources that they were aware of, and I was referred to Development Counseling Services.”

During a conversation with a development counselor, Blake felt strongly that DI was the right path for him. Little did he know, however, that he had more to gain than he had to give.

“I thought I was going to come to DI and be a rockstar, but the Lord humbled me very quickly,” Blake says. “I had the thought, ‘Isn’t it presumptuous to think that the Lord would direct me here so that I could do something for DI?’ It was me that needed the work. So, I promised myself that I would get everything out of this. And even though I had been practicing these work behaviors already, I have been looking for and finding ways that I can improve on them.”

One way Blake has grown during his time as an associate is by developing relationships that are not about convenience.

“I’ve been working on getting to know people not for what I’m going to get out of it but for what I can put into it,” Blake says. “It’s been a wonderful experience, and it’s improved the relationships that I have with my wife, my kids, my parents, my siblings. All the relationships in my life have gotten deeper and more meaningful.”

When asked his favorite part about working at DI, Blake gives a common response.

“The people, and I’m sure that’s not a surprise,” he says. “You don’t have the backbiting, the rumors, or the gossip. You don’t have people stepping on necks for their next promotion. It’s just a bunch of people who give the benefit of the doubt because they need the benefit of the doubt. It’s been the most uplifting and positive job I’ve ever had.”