01:24

Ty Johnson

Thistle Farms

Nashville, TN USA

"When you’re given a second chance with anything: take a hold of that second chance, be the best that you can, and give it all that you have to give."

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Ty's work combines: Business, Non-Profit Organizations, and Building Things

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Day In The Life

Asst. Director of Manufacturing

I oversee the manufacturing floor of a social enterprise that supports women healing from prostitution and addiction.

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Day In The Life Of An Assistant Director of Manufacturing

My Day to Day

I help train our employees on how to make the products and how to use the machines. I also mentor the women who are still in our residential program. Once a month I get a forecast. I sit down with those numbers and break the report into different weeks. Then I'll assign women to different machines and find trainers for women who need to be trained. I also work on payroll and evaluations for employees. On top of all of that, I get to set my own goals to work towards.

Skills & Education

Advice for getting started

I developed a lot of trust issues due to my circumstance. I thought that everyone wanted something from me if they were giving me something because that's the way it was for so long. Once I found the right resources and started getting support from good people, I realized that that doesn't have to be the case. There are people who want to help you without anything in return. All you need to do is accept the support and do the best that you can with the opportunities that come from it.

Here's the path I took:

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Life & Career Milestones

I've taken a lot of twists and turns

1.
I grew up in a great Christian-based home in Knoxville, Tennessee, but things quickly changed when my mother married an alcoholic—from then on, I faced a lot of abuse and turned to drugs to cope.
2.
I dropped out of school and the community I grew up around quickly shifted to drug dealers, drug users, prostitutes, and gamblers.
3.
I had already been in and out of prison a couple of times before my final arrest for selling drugs in Lewisburg, Tennessee.
4.
I decided that I needed help, so I put myself on the waiting list for Magdalene, a residential recovery program for women with criminal histories of prostitution and addiction.
5.
I got a bed at a Magdalene home and stayed there working on myself for about a year—despite my efforts, I was still sentenced to 14 years for my drug charge.
6.
While in prison, I participated in behavioral modification programs, started working towards my GED, and stopped hanging around the wrong crowds—I was granted parole three years later.
7.
I returned to the Magdalene program and got a job with Thistle Farms—I started working as a candle maker and have worked my way up to assistant director of manufacturing.
8.
I’ve been out of prison for over eight years now without any violations!

Defining Moments

How I responded to discouragement

THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
They want something from me. What do I have to do in return for this free support?
How I responded:
I developed a lot of trust issues due to my circumstance. I thought that everyone wanted something from me if they were giving me something because that's the way it was for so long. Once I found the right resources and started getting support from good people, I realized that that doesn't have to be the case. There are people who want to help you without anything in return. All you need to do is accept the support and do the best that you can with the opportunities that come from it.

Experiences and challenges that shaped me

Click to expand

My mother married an alcoholic when I was 12 years old and things quickly took a downward turn. I faced a lot of physical and sexual abuse in my home.
Growing up in a home gripped by active addiction and abuse, I too turned to drugs to cope with my circumstances.

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