Findlay, Ohio, Dec. 13 - The benefits are mutual for students who took The University of Findlay’s Vocational Transition and Daily Living Skills education course and for the Findlay High School students they mentored since this fall.
In the program, 10 UF sophomores and juniors who are planning to become special education teachers serve as job coaches for the 17 students in JoAnn Welker’s sophomore English class at Findlay High School.
According to Assistant Professor of Special Education Susan Brooks, who teaches the University class, UF’s job coaching program is the only program of its kind currently in place in the nation’s college campuses.
The FHS students volunteered on the UF campus each Tuesday and Thursday from 7:45 to 8:45 a.m. This year students worked with University vehicles and the groundskeeping staff and at the Clauss Ice Arena, the Village Café, the Cave, the Oiler Mart and the College of Education.
The program has proved so popular with University staff and faculty that more departments have requested volunteers than are available.
Each FHS student is paired with a UF student and placed in a volunteer job that best fits his or her interests. The education students conduct surveys with the high schoolers to determine which jobs and which personalities will best fit together.
University students work alongside the high school students, monitoring their progress, attendance and attitude, among other things.
The UF students practice tasks that they will use in their future classrooms, those in which they help students make the transition from school to work, college or the military.
Over the course of the 10-week program, the education students meet with the high school students’ parents, create plans for each student’s transition, complete weekly job evaluations and write professional letters of recommendation for the FHS students’ future jobs.
While this was the sixth year that UF has offered the program, this year has been the program’s most successful, according to Welker.
“The phenomenal thing is that every year something gets better and better,” she said.
What made this year a standout was the University students’ willingness to go above and beyond the requirements laid out in the course and program descriptions. This year’s education students took their students on field trips to potential employers’ places of business and to University activities such as sports events and concerts. The UF students also made surprise visits to FHS to check in on students.
According to Welker, the benefits for the high school students are tremendous. Long-term benefits include improved behavior, writing skills and self-esteem, plus an understanding of how to get along with people in a work situation, she said. The FHS students also have gained exposure to the college atmosphere, sparking their interest in someday going to college.
For the UF students, the benefits of the mentoring program are also high. They gain experience in dealing with students early in their college careers.
The practical experience has been invaluable for the UF students, because they have the chance to adapt what they’ve learned in lectures and books to the needs of actual students.
“The unknown is what students are going to be like,” Lima native and education major Nick Morris said.
Welker said, “My kids feel that their job is to make [UF students] better teachers.”
Education major Sherrie Ludwig of Findlay noted that her positive experiences in this course have led her to consider teaching high school students, rather than younger children.
