It’s another sunny day in Southern California, but Delminio never takes the idyllic weather for granted. He speaks of blue skies and blue water both figuratively and literally as he basks in the sunshine and the life he’s built here.
Before moving to the west coast, Delminio lived and worked in the rural Midwest. His career spanned a variety of trades – from operating cranes and forklifts to repairing coffee pots at Oklahoma’s oldest coffee roaster. Since he was young, he understood the value of a job and believed that hard work would push him forward. But when a series of what Delminio called “wrong decisions” led to his incarceration, that forward progression came to a standstill.
Delminio found himself back at square one. His sister offered him a place to stay in Southern California. To him, it was the perfect place for a fresh start.
“When you have to start from the beginning and start from scratch, that says a lot about a person. It says a lot about a person’s character—to start all over again and make something good happen out of it. You learn from your mistakes, and you just keep on going.”
He was a thousand miles away from home now, but the lessons that country life taught him continued to ground and guide him. Hearing his father’s voice in his ear, Delminio reminisces: “He’d always tell me, ‘Ain’t nobody going to give you nothing in life. Ain’t nobody going to hand it to you and put it on a silver platter. Anything you get that’s worth having, you’re going to work for.’”
True to the ethos his father instilled in him, Delminio set his sights on finding a job to get back on his feet. His probation officer referred him to Chrysalis, where he worked at developing new skills and building meaningful relationships with peers.
“Chrysalis helped me by giving me a chance to work—by giving me a chance to prove my worth and manhood,” he says. “I learned that if you work and work hard at it, something good’s going to come out of that. If it’s money you’re looking for, that’s going to come. And then, not only just money comes, but a sense of worthiness and pride.”
Self-motivated and eager to resume working, Delminio was soon hired onto a Chrysalis Roads crew. There, he worked on freeway maintenance alongside other Chrysalis clients and Caltrans employees. He put his best foot forward every day and built rapport with his team members, who began to take notice.
“I got to meet other people that worked for Caltrans. They got to telling me, ‘Hey man, you need to go over there and put in an application. You’re a good worker – they might hire you.’ And that’s what I did. It was really encouraging. They’d always keep pushing me forward.”
One year later, he was hired as a Caltrans Highway Maintenance Worker.
It’s a dynamic job that brings him to different locales across the region, with projects that vary from day to day. The ever-changing pace provides a welcome reprieve for Delminio, who felt a sense of idleness during incarceration. Reflecting on how much has changed since then, he smiles and says, “Life is coming alive right now.”
Through his work, Delminio keeps millions of commuters moving every day. And he wants to keep moving, too. He looks forward to further building his career, getting a place of his own, and enjoying the outdoors with his own boat or RV one day.
“You live through the fire to get to the sandy beaches and tropical weather. You went through the fire. Now it’s all blue sky, blue water. You’ve just got to keep on sailing. You’ve got to keep on going.”
Although he’s made it to the land of blue skies, it’s not his end destination. For Delminio, his goal has always been forward movement. Instead of coasting along, he continues to sail toward new shores through hard work, a renewed sense of self-worth, and encouragement by those around him.