beyond self | community service
Prepping for Life LifePrep@Naz program offers new opportunities for developmentally disabled by Robin L. Flanigan
LifePrep special education teacher Melyssa Mantell guides LifePrep students as they learn to look up current events.
new, innovative program at Nazareth College is giving students with developmental disabilities the chance to challenge their own boundaries, become as independent as possible, and ultimately gain competitive employment. LifePrep@Naz, a collaboration between the College, Arc of Monroe County, and program liaison Victor Central School District, pairs students ages 18 to 21 with peer mentors, matches them with on-campus jobs, and offers full access to a variety of classes—increasing diversity on campus and broadening expectations for a population eager to contribute to society. “It’s about Nazareth walking its talk,” says Ellen Contopidis, Ph.D., the program’s director and an associate professor in the graduate inclusive childhood education program. “We really do include all students because it’s part of our sense of social justice. That concept permeates throughout our campus.” 22 CONNECTIONS | Spring 2012
Contopidis wanted to start LifePrep@ Naz, housed in the Center for Civic Engagement, after seeing the success of a similar program at Keuka College two years ago. While several other colleges and universities in the region welcome youths with developmental disabilities, she adds, none of them are as inclusive as Nazareth, which provides “true experiential, transformative opportunities in a very safe and nurturing place.” While they do not graduate with a degree, LifePrep students take a daily core curriculum, based on personal interests and goals, to develop and improve functional life skills. LifePrep student Katie Schoenfelder, 21, recalls fighting nerves when she first came onto campus this past fall, but after both professors and students offered to show her around, she gained enough confidence to explore new areas on her own. She works in the campus bookstore two
days a week—her first job—and particularly enjoys her Exploring Religion class. “She’s so much more mature,” says her mother, Peggy Schoenfelder. “This program is like night and day compared to the others Katie has been in. No one here makes these kids feel like they’re outsiders. Instead, they challenge them instead of automatically assuming that they can’t do something.” Thirty-five Nazareth students serve as peer mentors, through work-study programs and as volunteers. Trained by the Arc of Monroe and required to attend bimonthly workshops for ongoing support and development, the mentors serve as an ambassador to Nazareth classes, an aide in LifePrep classes, a study partner, a social buddy, or a job coach. But for many of the mentors, official responsibilities start to blur as close relationships form. For instance, assigned as an ambassador, inclusive education major Ashley Binnert ’14 also takes notes for www.naz.edu