Special grads learn life skills at college

SALEM — When Derek Marshall arrived on the Salem State campus, he was so shy he barely spoke or made eye contact with others, and he couldn't get around on his own.

Four years later, the 24-year-old autistic Peabody resident raises his hand in class, holds a driver's license, has close friends, regularly heads into Boston for Celtics, Red Sox and Bruins games, and works several jobs — thanks to the Embark program, which operates out of the college's Enterprise Center.

"He's just a different kid from when he left high school," said his mother, Anne Marshall.

Derek is among eight students who donned caps and gowns yesterday as they graduated from Embark, which is part of the North Shore Education Consortium. It was started in 2000 for young adults with cognitive delays.

"Our students all had the desire to go to college like their brothers, sisters, neighbors and relatives," said Patrice Grande, director and co-founder of Embark. "It's designed for people who don't have the ability to matriculate in regular college but have the desire to continue their education."

From computer skills and job coaching to money management and getting around on public transportation, Grande said the program teaches the gamut of "applied life skills" — all on the setting of the Salem State campus, where Embark students use the athletic center, cafeteria and other facilities along with college students their age.

"(We work) to increase their level of independence so they'll have a life like you and I," Grande said, "a place to belong to, a job, a circle of friends, and can get back and forth to and from places."

Embark students study math, English, geography, current events, sex education, personal and social growth, and a variety of other subjects.

Max Cullen, 22, of Ipswich said Embark enabled him to become more independent than he ever imagined he could be.

"I take the train and the bus by myself, even the subway (in Boston)," said Cullen, who is autistic. "I like our consumer skills class and using my money skills."

Cullen works at TJ Maxx in Swampscott, New England Biolabs in Ipswich and also for the shipping department at the North Shore Education Consortium.

In career class, the students compile r�©sum�©s and portfolios with a master application, birth certificate and other relevant documentation.

"Everyone has jobs," said Janis Collamore, an Embark co-founder and curriculum coordinator. "Career path and jobs are a huge component."

Graduate Rebecca Drake of Wenham couldn't cross the street by herself when she arrived at Embark in 2006. Now she takes the bus and train on her own.

"I learned a lot," said Drake, 22, who has Down syndrome. "It's fun, and I made new friends. My favorite classes were health, math and personal/social growth — I learned about having good manners."

Grande said the program has a strong social skills curriculum that helps students become more independent and responsible.

"They teach them all about their disability," Anne Marshall said, "how it affects their life and how it affects their jobs — and how they can get around that."

Every Friday, for example, the students use public transportation to take field trips around the community, whether it's shopping or a tour of the Statehouse.

Community service is also a component of the program, so students make meals for the homeless, volunteer for charity rummage sales and more.

"We get involved in those things," Grande said, "so they can realize they can contribute a lot to help somebody else."

"They teach a lot of everyday stuff," Anne Marshall said. "They do cooking; they take them to the Laundromat and teach them how to wash and dry clothes. They teach them how to change a light bulb and to do simple fix-it projects with a hammer and nail."

Tuition is covered by the public school districts in which the students live, until they turn 22. Annual tuition is approximately $25,000, and the program is planning to launch a division of continuing education in the fall so students can continue to take courses.

"I liked the classes, like consumer skills and working with money," said graduate Ben Galante, 21, of Beverly Farms, who works at Chapman's greenhouses in Beverly, where he designs displays. "I would like to eventually do landscape design."

Photos

Rebecca Drake, front, of Wenham and Joanne Evitts, second in line, of Lynn lead the processional during graduation from the Embark Program at Salem State College's Enterprise Center. Staff Photographer