AIKEN — USC Aiken is introducing a new community event this October to bring visibility and employment opportunities to students in the college’s USCA LIFE (Learning Is For Everyone) program, which serves students with intellectual disabilities.
The event will mirror Children’s Place Inc.’s Celebrity Waiter Night, giving students in the LIFE program a chance to work for several hours as an employee at a downtown Aiken business on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 18.
One of the main goals of LIFE is to secure employment for its participating students; LIFE students receive job training in the program and work about 5-20 hours per week each semester with support from staff. During the first year in the program, students complete an unpaid campus internship. During their second year, they work within the campus and local communities.
However, LIFE Assistant Director Adrienne Patterson said that it can sometimes be challenging to help these students secure jobs because employers can be unsure about their abilities. “I’m hoping that as the businesses engage with them… it might ease some really valid concerns they have about hiring someone with disabilities,” she said.
“This is another step in that direction to have some exposure so that they can really see that there are jobs that these students are very capable of doing… it’s bringing awareness to the fact that these are individuals who can work, who can be very good workers. They’re actually very amazing employees. They’re very reliable. They’re very happy to work, and we want to kind of help break that stigma of ‘there’s nothing they can do,’” she added.
Six businesses are currently committed to participating including Lionel Smith Ltd., Pitter Patter/Caroline’s Boutique, High Country Olive Oil, Mack’s Deli, Beyond Bijoux/Iron Gate Candles and Vampire Penguin.
Patterson said that the program is seeking out additional businesses to participate in the event. “Even though downtown is just a few miles from here, a lot of people in Aiken don’t know that this program is here, and we’re the only program of its kind in the CSRA,” she said.
Now in its third year, LIFE is beginning to expand.
At its inception it was only a two-year program focused on basic life skills and completing students earned a PACER (Preparing for Academic, Community and Employment Readiness) Credential.
The addition of a third and fourth year option is now available for students who have completed the first two years of LIFE. The additional years, referred to as the Leadership and Civic Engagement (LCE) program, are focused more heavily on employment.
“They must work 20 hours a week off campus in a paid job,” Patterson said about years three and four.
Patterson talked about the accomplishments of some of the program’s first batch of third year students; two are currently working at Aiken Regional Medical Centers, one is employed at Savannah River Mission Completion and another works at the YMCA.
“The program is working,” she said. “Students are employed. I think the community is beginning to see them and recognize the program and it’s really exciting.”
Businesses interested in participating in USCA LIFE’s Celebrity Employee event can contact Adrienne Patterson at uscalife@usca.edu.