College LIFE program celebrates one year anniversary

January 2018     No Comments

Staff, students and family members of participants in Upstate Cerebral Palsy and SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s College Life program gathered recently to celebrate the program’s first anniversary. From left are students: Dillan Geary, Jon Smith, Casey Kornmeyer, Jordan LaBarbera, Nicholas Vemula, Evan Bruchis, Jayvon Powell and Benjamin Allen. Not pictured, but attending the event was Deborah Hanson.

It’s been one year of helping people with developmental disabilities receive a learning experience on a college campus and the success of the College LIFE program by Upstate Cerebral Palsy and SUNY Poly certainly has reason to celebrate.

Launched in November 2016, College LIFE aims to help participants develop life, work and self-advocacy skills to achieve the next level of independence and lead fully inclusive lives. The program is unlike any other program in the area, in that it allows students from Upstate Cerebral Palsy to learn skills at a 4-year university based on their unique abilities and interests. An individual may progress to do volunteer work or to participate in a community day program, or he or she may move into paid employment. This program allows individuals to be a part of the SUNY Poly campus community and to experience life on a college campus while working on their goals set forth by the program and by students themselves.

A celebration was held this winter to mark the one year anniversary and successes of the program and its first class of enrolled students, with families, friends, Upstate Cerebral Palsy and SUNY Polytechnic Institute staff in attendance, including Dr. Veronica Tichenor, Associate Professor of Sociology and Program Coordinator of Community and Behavioral Health. Dr. Tichenor was instrumental in the creation of the program.