TCNJ

9 WINTER 2019 AARON WILSON WATSON '18 work, Bauer still visits friends on campus when he can. "I had a good time during my four years," he says. "I miss it." For Brianna Wittman, it's only the beginning. On a recent fall day, she spoke of her new life at TCNJ, of matters big and small: homework, becoming more independent, what to wear to Halloween and Homecoming festivities. Schuler. "It's the same right that every other American adult has — how you pay for it, what you do with it, that's another ballgame. But to not even have the opportunity goes against the whole concept of growth and education in this country." There are roughly 260 post- secondary programs for intellectu- ally disabled students in the U.S.; TCNJ offers the only four-year program in New Jersey and regularly receives 60 applications for its dozen freshman openings. Meg Grigal, research fellow at the Institute for Community Inclusion and co-director of Think College at the University of Massachusetts– Boston, praised the breadth of the CCS program. "TCNJ focuses on the whole student and the whole college experience," she says. For Tami Kaplowitz '12, the best part of CCS was having access to an array of TCNJ classes, including philosophy and religion. "I'm an avid learner and it was all just really interesting," she says. Kaplowitz, who lives on her own, works at The Arc in Mercer County performing a range of clerical work. When an abstract art class for adults in The Arc's day program needed a teacher, Kaplowitz — who has long been artistic and whose father is TCNJ professor of fine art Kenneth Kaplowitz — was tapped to teach it. CCS, she says, put her on the path toward a more expansive life. "It was a big contributor to me becoming so independent," she says. Alongside academics, CCS offers comprehensive vocational develop- ment. Courses tackle résumé writing and teach soft skills through mock interviews. Students explore a range of on-campus jobs and eventually intern off campus, including at day-care and fitness centers; an internship at the New Jersey Superior Court in Trenton turned into a post-graduation job for one student. At CCS, Carl Bauer '18, worked with athletic trainers and in the mail room, but it was a stint with dining services that helped him land his current position at Mont- After a quick stop at her house, she headed for lunch, on foot, as always. Since the accident, driving is not an option. But the sun shone and Wittman cast her arms out toward the campus around her. "If I have to not drive, that's OK," she says, smiling. "I'm alive. I'm here." ■ —Liz Leyden Liz Leyden is a writer living in New Jersey. gomery Township Upper Middle School. There, he helps prepare meals for 800 students each day. "I like it," he says. "It keeps me busy." Bauer also works in two additional afterschool programs, helping with everything from hall monitoring to prepping for athletic events. He feels a strong connection to TCNJ, where he was a member of the Best Buddies club and played soccer and basketball in the unified sports program. Though busy with Tami Kaplowitz '12 stays busy at her job at The Arc.

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