What's Next?
NODCC Community Members Take A Variety of Beautiful Next Steps After Completing High School
By Miriam Bernard
It’s that “graduation” time of year, and so many NODCC Community Members are moving on to exciting new opportunities and horizons! Allow this collection of secondary education experiences from our NODCC family to inspire you to keep pushing forward and chasing goals. As you can see below, there’s a perfect “next step” for every person!
Christine Williams, Mother of Valerie Williams, ACC
For Valerie, we began our search for her “next step” after high school very early, six months to a year prior to her “graduation” date. Valerie’s next step would be an adult day program, which we still call school. We visited many programs and feel so fortunate to have found a program that Valerie loves. Every day the teachers look to Valerie’s strengths without limiting her, they look to see why she does the things she does and try to expand her current knowledge base. We have seen such a change in her social and communication abilities. School has a different theme each day – karaoke, gardening, exercise, outdoor activities, etc. The last family event that she attended had dancing, Val had so much fun dancing (hasn’t really enjoyed dancing in the past) – just one of the things we attribute to her school and variety of activities. Valerie loves to go to school each day – she loves to see her teachers and the other students that go to school with her – has been great fun to watch her grow.
Claire Costa
I have C-ACC and I went to a university and graduated with my bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. I have been a preschool teacher for almost 9 years.
Nathan Barge (Adult with C-ACC)
I began my college career at a community college, however, did not get very far with academics. I was lucky enough to find a 4-year college to transfer to (Edgewood College in Madison, WI), which had an amazing program for students with various intellectual and developmental disabilities. The program is called "Cutting Edge." Through it, I have learned many skills for the independent living, social, and vocational as well as providing me more confidence in what I want to pursue for a career. In May 2023, I will be graduating with a BA in Communications with a concentration in Digital Marketing. If not for Cutting Edge, I would not have been able to have all the success that has led me to where I am today. I do not have a job locked down yet, but am confident that I am on the right path as I transition into the real world. I am keeping multiple options as I continue the job hunt. Something else that I never thought would be a possibility was just brought into discussion just a couple weeks ago- the potential of grad school. Since I took a while to get through undergrad, I never even considered this option, however, since I have been able to succeed at such a high level thanks to the Cutting Edge program, I have had a few advisors approach me asking that I consider taking next steps as I continue to pursue my dream of working in the sports media career field. If I end up attending grad school, I would also have a grad position with my school's athletics department assisting with the Sports Information Department. I look forward to what the future holds, but will always be grateful to Cutting Edge for all that they have done to support me along the way.
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