Chris Emery of Longswamp Township, Berks County, worried he may have done something wrong when he found out on Thursday that Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom would not be welcoming him back to a job he has held for 12 years.

If you have ever been to Dorney, you may have seen Emery cleaning the bathrooms, sweeping, handing out maps and giving directions to guests.The 2006 Brandywine High School graduate first heard about the job over a decade ago through family friends.He learned life skills at Berks Career and Technology Center, such as cooking, washing dishes and doing outside jobs such as using a leaf blower, lawn mower and picking up sticks. He graduated with his friends at age 18.Each year he interviewed at the park, his mother, Claudia, was permitted to sit in on the interview process.But this year, Claudia was not permitted in the interview.During this interview, Chris was asked to write words and draw pictures about Dorney Park, read flash cards about guest problems and explain how to solve the problems and to build a train out of Legos.Claudia said her son had difficulty reading the flash cards and building the train.“Because he wouldn’t interact and build a train out of Legos, he was told he does not fit into what they were looking for,” she said.Chris was also told he could go back in 30 days and interview again.“How could you do this to someone?” the family asked.During an interview with Times News’ sister company Lehigh Valley Press on Friday, Chris proudly showed his multiple awards earned while working at the park.Working six-hour days, four days a week, Emery never called in sick.Claudia said she heard other special needs interviewees had the same difficulty with the new process.A friend of Chris’ shared Emery’s heartbreaking story on social media on Thursday and it went viral.On Friday, Claudia heard from a representative of Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom who also posted on social media in response to the initial post.“We respect, value and appreciate all of our dedicated associates. I’ve known Chris for many years, and when I became aware of this situation I requested that we immediately reach out to him and his family to let them know that we would happily welcome Chris back for a 13th season,” Mike Fehnel, vice president and general manager of the park, wrote.Fehnel apologized and told Claudia her son would have his job for the upcoming season and said he would not have to go through any more interviews.Attempts to reach a representative of Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom were unsuccessful.Claudia told Fehnel she could not give him an answer about her son’s return to the park.“He is a marked target now,” the family said. “Everyone knows.”“I didn’t know how to feel,” Chris said after finding out he would not have a job at Dorney this summer.He wondered, “Did I do something wrong?”After assurances by his family that he did nothing wrong, Chris said at this point he does not feel he wants to go back.The family has season passes to the park and will continue to visit because Chris likes going.Emery said moving forward, he is going to start saving money for his next vacation — a trip to Ocean City, Maryland. He is also looking forward to seeing “Disney on Ice” in Reading and several other dinner shows.Claudia said Chris has already received several job offers.Putting the difficult interview behind him, Chris is now looking forward to Valentine’s Day weekend, where he will attend the Tim Tebow Foundation Night to Shine at Hope Community Church in King of Prussia.The event is an “unforgettable prom night experience, centered on God’s love, for people with special needs at host churches across the country,” according to the foundation’s website. The event takes place on the same weekend at 44 churches in 26 states and three countries.