Page 11 - ABILITY Magazine - Best Practices Employment

Cooper: A lot of people, myself included, have degrees that don’t match what we’re doing.
LaBreck: Absolutely. There are many states that run mentoring programs, particularly vocational rehabilita- tion programs. It’s absolutely critical to get to people when they’re as young as possible, to give them the sup- port and guidance they need to be successful. Some- times you need somebody to bounce information off of, or talk to when you’ve had a frustrating day. But most importantly, you need a model to show you how to move forward and have the life that you want. Nobody ever does it alone.
LaBreck: And your degree is in?
Cooper: My undergrad’s in biology. But my high school counselor told me I couldn’t go to college. I have ADHD, and my grades would go up and down depend- ing on the teacher, if they really pulled me in or not. My counselor said, “Do you like welding?” And I said, “No, I want to go to college,” and she said, “You’re not going to college.” So I came out to California from New Jersey on my own, and got into a junior college to be able to improve my grades and get into a university. If a kid doesn’t have the temperament to say, “I’m not going to just take your word” or, “Let me see if there’s another answer out there,” they can be crushed.
Cooper: Tell me about the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) that President Obama signed.
LaBreck: It crushes a lot of people. It would have crushed me because I was not from a family that was educated. Neither of my parents completed high school, and they both had farming backgrounds. Both had to drop out of school to work in the household and on the farms. So they didn’t have an opportunity to experience education like we did. But they never lowered their expectations of what we could do. I think that made a terrific difference.
LaBreck: As you know, it’s the updated version of the Workforce Investment Act and addresses the skills that individuals with disabilities—really our entire work- force—need in order to move forward and be viewed as marketable. The emphasis now is to balance WIOA and the President’s job-driven training initiative. Balance has always been an issue: If you send a person to col- lege for four years, they’ve been focusing on their edu- cation, but when they come out they haven’t necessarily acquired the job experience that they need. So we’re moving towards being able to provide the nation’s workforce with individuals who are educated, skilled and have acquired some experience through apprentice- ships and internships. Apprenticeships are important because many employers need individuals with skills in specific areas. An apprenticeship can help them transi- tion smoothly into fields that employers have identified as high-demand areas.
There was an old work program that was specifically for inner-city kids; it gave them an opportunity to have a paid summer job and gain experience. When I went to sign up for it, they said, “No, you can’t be in the program,” and I said, “Why not?” And they said, “Because you’ve got a vision problem.” I went back and told my mom, and she said, “Get in the car,” and we went back down to the office. She asked those people: “Who told her that she couldn’t work?” And they said, “Ma’am, she’s got a vision impairment.” And my mother said, “It doesn’t matter. There’s some- thing she can do. You have other people who have other problems. I want her to have a summer job. She has a right to have a summer job.” So I did get a sum- mer job with her advocacy and support.
Fortunately, individuals who get an education in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) are going to be highly desirable as employees who have both the skills and the experience to seek out competitive integrated employment.
Martirosyan: That’s critical.
LaBreck: Absolutely. While there are many internship programs that average high school students participate in, there’s been a barrier for individuals with disabilities. At the college level, it’s also important for individuals with disabilities to take on internships, seek out mentor- ing, and prepare a foundation for the future. And as a vocational rehabilitation program, it’s critical that we partner nationally with higher education and adult edu- cation programs so these partnerships lead to a new way of thinking.
LaBreck: That experience taught me to not take no for an answer. And even if you’re not successful, try it a differ- ent way. Just don’t give up on yourself. I think she really gave me that support and guidance that I needed to not accept low expectations, which was really helpful. When people feel that initial rejection, it can be life long. Even if you overcome it, you never forget it. That’s why words are so powerful; they can really impact action, and that’s one of the main reasons I wanted to become a counselor.
rsa.ed.gov
doleta.gov/wioa
perkins.org abilitymagazine.com/Stevie-Wonder-issue.html
Cooper: Are you working with student disability centers in colleges to let them know that their students can find apprenticeships and internships?
Cooper: We’re building another component to what we do, a volunteer and mentoring connection. We will be connecting ABILITY Corps and ABILITY Jobs members. The possibilities are exciting.
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