Elissa Collopy
eac001@marietta.edu
The transition from high school to the local community can be overwhelming, especially for those with developmental disabilities.¬¬ In response to this, Dr. Bill Bauer, associate professor of education, and Dr. Christopher Klein, assistant professor of psychology, are coordinating the Pioneer Pipeline program along with Miles Alexander, a Warren High School teacher who specializes in intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“Many people focus on what these students can’t do,” Klein said. “In this program we really focus on what students can do.”
The program helps transition these students into independent life by teaching them basic skills in a three part process – academics, recreation and employment.
“What I love about this program are the resources that Marietta College offers that Warren High School doesn’t,” Alexander said. “Students are able to use the skills that we practice in the classroom in real life situations. Having students learn in real life situations is much stronger than in the classroom and this wouldn’t be available without this program.”
According to Klein, The Ohio State University’s Nisonger Center has provided Marietta College with a $15,000 two-year grant for the Pioneer Pipeline Project. Pioneer Pipeline is a replication of OSU’s Transition Options in Postsecondary Settings program. The focus of TOPS is to empower students to become self-determined adults by providing them with college experiences including participation in college classes, employment, and campus social life that are customized to each student’s interests and needs.
Students at Warren High School are being transported two days a week to campus to use the campus facilities and work alongside their peer mentors.
“One of my favorite things about this program is seeing the friendships my students develop with their peer mentors,” Alexander said.
Peer mentors are mostly education and psychology majors who accompany these students around campus and in the community.
“We get them out of their comfort zones,” junior Cassy Crane, a peer mentor for the program, said.
Klein said the program is beneficial to the peer mentors as well as the students, and Crane agrees.
“It’s just a really good program and we have a lot of fun with it, and it’s good experience for them but also for us, too,” Crane said.
Hayley Montgomery, a senior education major and seasoned peer mentor, says there are noticeable improvements in the students.
“I’ve been doing it since last fall and I feel like the coolest thing is just seeing how they’ve grown,” Montgomery said. “They came on campus the first semester and they were very timid and wanting to do everything together, and now they’re not going to do anything together; they want to be with us and they all have jobs on campus, which is really cool.”
According to Alexander, integrating the students into the community gives them more of a well-rounded college experience and improves their social skills.
“The way they act in certain social situations and how they communicate with one another has been directly impact by this program,” she said.
Klein says this program is just as beneficial to the college.
“It’s good for our students to be able to get involved with things on campus, but it’s also good for the campus because it goes along with our awareness of diversity inclusiveness,” Klein said.
Alexander agrees.
“This program has made a huge difference in these kids’ lives and I am lucky to be a part of that,” Alexander said.
