Category: Program Successes
Community Spotlight – Episode 16: Mental Health and Wellness
Community Spotlight – Episode 16: Mental Health and Wellness
In this edition of Community Spotlight, Callie interviews two UK employees whose work is related to mental health and wellness. Amy Rodquist-Kodet is a holistic health coach and wellness specialist for UK Health and Wellness. Kristen Dahl works at the Human Development Institute at UK on multiple initiatives that center mental health, wellness, and mindfulness. In this interview, Callie asks about some of the supports and resources people might think about for mental health and wellness, the differences between them, and how we can work on our personal goals day to day.
Nate Palermo – NKU Graduate and CTP Student
Nate Palermo – NKU Graduate and CTP Student
Nate’s area of interest revolves around environmental science, animal life, and parks & rec. Nate has completed classes in environmental science, psychology, athletics and more. He enjoys playing games with friends, attending NKU basketball games, and working out in the Rec Center. During his time at NKU, Nate has completed several internship placements which include NKU’s Rec Center, the Cincinnati Zoo, the College of Education, and the Cincinnati Museum Center. Nate also enjoys working outside and volunteering his time with Gorman Farms.
Joe Gerstle – NKU Graduate and CTP Student
Joe Gerstle – NKU Graduate and CTP Student
During his time at NKU, Joe completed classes related to business, athletics, media and more while also participating in NKU’s Greek Life as a member of the Pike Fraternity. In his free time, Joe enjoys attending NKU basketball games, working out at the Rec Center, and hanging out with his Pike brothers. He is passionate about sports and can be found weightlifting, playing basketball, summing, and running to just name a few activities. During his time in the SHEP Program, Joe focused his internship experience on team management and supporting the Men’s Baseball Team. For the last couple of years, Joe lived on campus in the residence halls and provided assistance to the baseball coaches and players during their practice times.
Bluegrass Community and Technical College Celebrates Halloween with student party
Bluegrass Community and Technical College Celebrates Halloween with Student Party
Students donned their favorite spooky gear for the celebration.
A New Chapter Begins: WKU Program Celebrates First Student
A New Chapter Begins: WKU Program Celebrates First Student
We are thrilled to announce that our WKU SAV-Y program has officially started with its first student!
- This is the first semester of our CTP program, SAV-Y, at Western Kentucky University! We are so excited to join the list of Kentucky CTP programs!
- WKU recently played the University of Alabama in football. Before the game Alabama’s CTP program, CrossingPoints Program (CPP), made a hype video in which they highlighted our program and theirs! It was so awesome to have CTPs at other universities across state lines to reach out and make connections while also helping spread awareness of CTP programs and helping us further our reach to communities that can benefit from our program.
Highlights
- Our SAV-Y student has many peer mentors who have been spending time with him outside of class to help him acclimate to campus! They have tried new restaurants on campus, explored the campus, and listened to music together (one of his favorite activities)!
- We have embedded peer mentor hours into a graduate level School Psychology course that currently requires each student to get a minimum of 15 hours of peer mentorship assistance for the semester. This has boosted our outreach for the program and for the peer mentors and led to other students inquiring and applying to become peer mentors. The School Psych graduate program and their leaders have been a huge asset to the SAV-Y program in getting off the ground for our first semester and we can’t thank them enough!
- We are in the process of forming partnerships with other WKU organizations to provide our SAV-Y student access to opportunities to grow his job knowledge, learning, and work-skills in multiple settings that are of interest to him.
About WKU SAV-Y
- Our SAV-Y program is a three-year program in which students will focus on Social development, Academics, and Vocational integration (hence the SAV-Y title). The program aims to help these students acquire workplace skills and competencies while gaining academic knowledge in an inclusive environment with an end goal of transitioning into a career in an area they have selected and worked towards throughout the program. Our SAV-Y program has now become the sixth CTP program of its kind in Kentucky, and we are so proud that we now have one available in our geographical area!
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Two Students Celebrated at Northern Kentucky University Celebration
Two Students Celebrated at Northern Kentucky University Celebration
Two students complete the Supported Higher Education Program at Northern Kentucky University. Congratulations to Tara McGrath and Michael Bushman!
Tara has taken classes across multiple disciplines, including Education, Theatre, English, Business, and more.
In this picture is Tara (far right) and her peer mentor Kayla Rich during commencement.
She has completed on-campus internships at Empower Learn Create, Steely Library, Northerner, NKU Theatre Box Office and most recently the College of Education Office. Emily Hellman of NKU’s SHEP often hears feedback from Tara’s instructors, internship supervisors, and peer mentors about how delightful, hard-working, and dedicated she is. She has represented NKU and the SHEP Program by leading campus tours and meeting with prospective students and their families. It is not uncommon for Tara to go above and beyond in her work while exceeding expectations.
Michael has taken classes in Art, English, Communications, Dance and Theatre. He’s held a paid internship at the Steely Library for the last three years and has assumed a number of roles and responsibilities through this position.
Michael has achieved success not only as a valuable intern, but has continued to challenge and apply himself in the classroom setting as well. Michael was one of the first students in the SHEP Program to live on campus in the residence halls and Emily is grateful for the role that he played in making on-campus housing an inclusive and accessible opportunity for all students.
Cole Amann (pictured far right in the group photo) completed the SHEP Program in Spring of 2020. Due to COVID restrictions, all University events were canceled and he was never able to attend the commencement ceremony. His Mom reached out to me a few months ago asking if Cole could participate in the commencement ceremony with our other two graduates this spring! We enjoyed seeing Cole again and was glad that we he was able to join the celebration.
Owensboro CTP Graduates First Students
Owensboro CTP Graduates First Students
Gavin Basham and Amie Morris are trailblazers in the CLS Program.
Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC) graduated its first two students this spring from the Career and Life Skills certificate program: Gavin Basham and Amie Morris.
The Career and Life Skills certificate is designed to improve employment options through college-level coursework that includes life-long learning skills, digital literacy, and career exploration, as well as essential workplace skills through experiential learning opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities.
The program is a 2-year program that started at OCTC in the fall of 2022 with Gavin and Amie being the first participants in the program. There are now a total of 6 students in the CLS program.
Gavin Basham was interested in working in kitchens and restaurants. He gained much experience in food preparation and culinary arts. Through his CLS internships he was offered a job at one of his placements.
Amie Morris found real joy and vision in the art classes that she took over the semesters. The artwork she produced astonished everyone around her. Although she has completed the CLS certificate, she may continue enrolling in other art classes here at OCTC.
We are so proud of our CLS graduates!
Celebrating NKUs CTP Students
Celebrating NKU’s Comprehensive Transition Program Students
