Brian graduates from college Project Forward program
We have exceptional graduation news to share! One of our Adult Services Program participants, Brian C., graduated earlier this year from Cape Cod Community College’s Project Forward Program.
Latham Centers Case Manager Alan Milsted interviewed Brian so we could feature his milestone on our blog:
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How long have you been attending Project Forward? I have been going for four years. I have graduated twice.
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Can you tell me about the classes you have taken? I have taken landscape maintenance, mass communications, office assistant, and animal care, and a music appreciation class. I was pretty happy when I found out that the teacher for Music Appreciation was Ron W. because he was one of the staff when I was in Children’s.
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Which have been your favorite classes and teachers? I enjoyed every class and liked all my teachers.
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This spring, because of the coronavirus pandemic, you could not go to the College. Can you tell me about the differences this made in your classes? I did my classes on-line. Mostly, my teachers sent me activities and tasks by email. Sometimes we had group chats, sometimes I talked to my teacher by myself. The challenges were different, but also kind of interesting. One thing I learned was that I had to make sure I did not delete my emails, because otherwise I did not know what I was supposed to be doing, and the teacher had to send me the emails again.
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Would you recommend Project Forward to other people? I would recommend it because it is a good college. The classes might be hard at first, but you learn that they get easier.
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Congratulations on your graduation! What are you looking forward to this year? I am looking forward to going back to Project Forward. I am doing a retail class. This might help me find jobs.
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How do you think Project Forward has helped you with your volunteer tasks at Plymouth Airport – or the other way round? When I went to the Courthouse with Project Forward, I was sorting files, and when I go to the airport, I sort out receipts and the ID cards for airport users.
Thank you, Brian, for sharing your great news with the Latham Community and beyond. CONGRATULATIONS from all of us! (In case you missed last year’s blog about Brian’s volunteer experience at Plymouth Airport, here is a link to the April, 2019 post).
More on Project Forward: Recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and UMass-Amherst/4H, Project Forward is a 38-year-old program that provides students with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to gain and maintain vocational skills, keys to independent living, and pathways to social success. Students in the program receive hands-on experience in multiple different fields, including Agriculture and Facilities, Hospitality and Culinary Arts, Mass Communications, and Retail Operations Management.
Pictured above: Brian in his cap and gown; and a surprise lawn sign appeared at Brian’s parents’ home. (His parents live off-Cape and found the poster from Cape Cod Community College on their lawn when they returned from a weekend away… Dedication from someone at the college, Alan noted.)