UC's IDD Education Center connects students with in-college employment

University of Cincinnati’s Transition Access Pathway program — or TAP — is designed to offer an educational experience for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), providing classroom instruction and preparing students for employment in the outside world after graduation. But with Dana Laster’s recent hiring to an admission coordinator role with the Student Recruitment and Marketing department in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services, and Information Technology (CECH), results of the program — which resides in CECH’s School of Education — now hit much closer to home.

This was exactly the point, explains CECH Senior Business Officer John Schwartz, who initially conceived of the pipeline that led to Laster’s employment.

“We have this great program in our college, but I didn’t see any signs aside from background support,” he explains. “I’m like, ‘Why don’t we have a TAP student working for us in our various operations in the college?’”

Schwartz felt that Laster, who graduated in spring 2024, would be the perfect candidate to pilot the pipeline program, having seen her deliver a speech regarding career aspirations at the annual Red & Black Blast event.

“Dana actually got up there and talked in front of everybody about what her hopes and dreams were, what she wanted to do career-wise,” he explains. “She said she wanted to be an administrative assistant. I liked Dana and what she had to say, so I was like, I want her to work for us.”

This in-college employment pipeline is a new opportunity for TAP, which has traditionally relied on external employers to hire graduates of the program. “Freshmen do vocational exploration, then sophomores do an on-campus internship,” explains Emily Johnson, TAP vocational coordinator. “Junior year, we try to get students off campus; senior year our goal is to get students off campus and in a paid internship. But in Dana’s case we kept her with the dean’s office.”

While the hiring is an excellent way for the college to actively support one of its community-minded programs, at the end of the day Laster’s experience in TAP and her hiring in the Student Recruitment and Marketing office represent a singular employment opportunity for one of the program’s alums.

Schwartz seconds the notion that hiring people with diverse abilities improves workplaces. Not only does the job opportunity benefit the employee, it also illustrates a range of positives the employment experience can bring. Schwartz shared that this experience has made him a better supervisor in simple ways, like presenting information in a more direct and accessible style.

“Hiring an TAP student challenges those supervisors to be better supervisors,” he explains. “You have to think differently about how you explain things or how you talk to them so that everybody is on the same page. Where I was talking to Dana originally, interviewing her or even explaining different things that I wanted her to do, I had to confirm that she understood … and maybe say things differently so it made more sense. That has made a huge impact on me.”

While the employment pipeline is at the moment limited to Laster’s recent CECH hiring, there’s hope that more units across the university take advantage of TAP’s internship program. As Laster’s current supervisor, Purdum enthusiastically encourages departments to participate in the program, saying, “I think it’s a missed opportunity for those that would not consider it.”

Featured image at top: Dana Laster works at her desk in the CECH Student Recruitment and Marketing department. Photo/CECH Marketing