Teen finds job two months after suffering severe facial injury

WEST ALLIS -- The challenge of finding a summer job became even greater in March for 15-year-old Isaiah Alexander. Alexander suffered severe facial injuries after a group of teens threw an alternator into the car in which he was riding. However, he didn't let that stop him from pushing forward with his job search.

Alexander landed a summer job with Career Youth Development. The organization heard about Alexander's story through the Peace for Change Alliance.

"I thought I was gonna fall out. I was just too happy, like 'man, thank God,'" Alexander said after getting the job.

Former State Sen. Gary Goyke also pitched in, helping to pay for Alexander's summer wages as he does office work for the CYD.

"He was looking for work when the accident happened. He was actually out looking for work and that appeals to me. It shows a willpower," Goyke said.

In March, Alexander was out picking up job applications when a group of teens threw something into the passing car.

"(The doctors) said it was something that belongs in a car. It's called an alternator, something like that," Alexander said.

With his brain pushed back and bones fractured in his face, Alexander's family feared the worst.

"I didn't think he was gonna make it. I pretty much thought he was gonna die that night," his mother, Theresa Alexander said.

The resilient teen got back to walking and talking, and eventually, back to the job search. When the groups heard about his story, they quickly offered him six weeks of part-time work.

Alexander says he'll use the money to pay for a driving permit.