Students with intellectual disabilities are gaining real-world job skills at Okaloosa Technical College through a program that has them serving breakfast in a campus cafe, catering meetings and even building tiny homes alongside traditional students.

• Okaloosa UP, a two-year certificate program launched in 2021, currently serves 13 students who are working toward industry certifications and competitive employment in two career pathways: Professional Culinary Arts & Hospitality and Building Trades & Construction Design Technology. 

“The goal of the two-year program is for our students to be in an inclusive college environment, to learn employability skills and then to earn any industry certifications that they can along the way,” said Cheryl Rushing, program coordinator for Okaloosa UP. “We then help the students find jobs.”

The program enrolled its first students in 2022 with just five participants. It has grown steadily, gaining students each semester. Applications are now being accepted for the spring semester starting in January. 

Okaloosa UP is one of the programs recognized by the Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities, which oversees the Florida Postsecondary Comprehensive Transition Program initiative. FPCTP was created to expand inclusive higher education opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities.

• Through FPCTP grants, colleges across Florida including Okaloosa Technical College can offer academic, career and social experiences that lead to industry certifications, employment and greater independence for students.

Students spend time in specialized career instruction classes and then work in either the culinary lab or building trades lab to develop practical skills. They clock in and out each day like regular employees. 

“Our students clock in every morning and clock out just like they would at work,” Rushing said. “We want them to know that if you’re at work, you’re going to be clocking in and clocking out. We’re trying to get them in that frame of mind that this is your work right now.”

Each morning, Okaloosa UP students operate a campus cafe where they serve breakfast to OTC staff and students. They take orders, handle payments, calculate change and prepare food.

• “They could be cutting, prepping for lunch, baking cookies or working in the dish pit,” Rushing said. “They’re learning everything behind-the-scenes at a restaurant and in front of the house too – because they do catering.”

Students also cater the Okaloosa Public Schools Foundation board meetings, occupational advisory committee meetings and other campus events, gaining experience interacting with customers in formal settings.

“It makes it more real because now you’re really dealing with customers and it’s been great for them to build their confidence to be able to talk to strangers,” Rushing said. 

• On the building trades side, students work on construction teams building tiny homes, learning hands-on skills alongside traditional program students. 

Jon Williams, President of Okaloosa Technical College, said the program prepares students either for traditional OTC programs or for direct employment, depending on their individual goals and capabilities.

“Many of these students, once they complete that, would now have enough knowledge built up and enough experience here at the college to go into a traditional program,” Williams said.

He pointed to a student who graduated from Okaloosa UP last year and now attends the traditional building trades program, constructing tiny homes. 

• “He was the leaderman for his group because he built some of that house in the previous semester,” Williams said. “I had a 20 year military veteran tell me that he learns new things all-day-long from this particular student.”

The program emphasizes building independence in students who will eventually work without classroom support systems.

“Another big goal for us is independence – teaching them as much independence as possible,” Rushing said. “We’re not going to be there when they go to work so we work on independent life skills too.”

Students are encouraged to lead in the cafe and other work environments, with staff providing support and guidance as needed.

• “We’ve seen changes in our students from when they start the first year of being very quiet, very subdued to becoming way more confident, coming out of their shells and getting out of their comfort zone,” Rushing said. 

Williams said Okaloosa UP students often arrive assuming professionals always know what to do, but they learn that everyone faces challenges and makes mistakes.

“I think as these students encounter challenges and overcome them, they start to realize that even I don’t have to have all the answers,” Williams said. “For students that struggle with a cognitive disability, they just can’t help but assume everybody knows more than them.”

He cited that same building-trades student as an example of how students can become authorities in their field through experience and training.

• “Once you become an expert on something, you really are an authority and you are somebody that is valued and appreciated. That’s part of the dignity of work,” Williams said. 

The program has developed strong partnerships with local employers, particularly the Hilton Garden Inn, which has hired several graduates.

“They love hiring our students,” Rushing said of the Hilton Garden Inn. 

Williams said the Occupational Advisory Committee meetings bring 18 to 20 industry partners to campus throughout the year, providing networking opportunities. 

• “These meetings expose our students to people who are absolutely ready to take a chance on them as an employee,” Williams said. “But now they can actually see them doing the work and say, ‘I want them. I need them in my company.’”

He said employers often discover these students bring valuable strengths to their companies. 

“They learn to look for strengths,” Williams said. “These students have a number of strengths that even some of the best employees don’t have — a lot of times it’s just being that individual that people want to talk to and want to communicate with.”

Okaloosa UP is the first Florida post-secondary comprehensive transition program in the Panhandle, serving the region from Escambia County to Tallahassee. It remains the only such program in Okaloosa County.

• “We are the first in Okaloosa County, but we were also the first across the Panhandle from Escambia County all the way over to Tallahassee,” Williams said. “We were the first one.”

The program’s success has led other counties to develop similar initiatives. Walton County now operates a program modeled after Okaloosa UP. 

Williams said the program has changed the culture at OTC, improving the overall environment for all students. 

“That’s what’s so humbling to me, that it’s making all of our students better — better employees, where they have more patience and understanding for all other employees,” Williams said. “It really has made our students better overall, better people to go out into the world because they’ve had this interaction, and ongoing interactions with these students is fantastic.”

The cafe also provides a practical benefit. Before Okaloosa UP, the campus had no snack bar.

• “There weren’t any biscuits and gravy served before,” Williams said with pride, referring to the cafe. “And I can tell you – I think we do a whole lot better as a campus of building tiny homes and working on cars when we have a 30-minute biscuits and gravy break.”

Williams stressed that the program seeks meaningful employment for students, not just any available job.

“Students need meaningful work where they can make a real difference, not mundane tasks that don’t engage them long-term,” Williams said. 

He said finding the right job fit transforms students’ lives.

• “All of a sudden you feel more important. You’re jumping out of bed, you’re excited to work — because it doesn’t feel like work,” Williams said. “Choose something you love to do and you never work a day in your life. That’s what the dignity of work is – when you feel excited to go to work. I think our Okaloosa UP students feel most excited about that because they matter…and their work counts.”

Williams said it’s not uncommon for students to feel sad leaving the program because of the connections and relationships made on campus, but the experience prepares them for similar success with employers.

“We’re able to take that experience and reassure them that they will have other experiences like that. They will have a company that will believe in them to that level too,” Williams said. 

To be admitted to Okaloosa UP, students must have a documented intellectual disability and a high school diploma or certificate of completion. Applicants must demonstrate basic understanding of mathematics and reading skills, have reliable transportation, and show the desire and motivation to complete a postsecondary program. They must also display a level of social maturity conducive to an adult environment. 

• The program has four main goals: skill attainment, program completion, industry certification and employment. 

Students earn a Certificate of Completion from a state-approved career program and can obtain industry-recognized credentials.

Rushing attributed the program’s success to having a committed team.

“We’ve got a really good team and I think that’s a huge part of it — we want team members who are going to have the patience and the kindness needed, but also the ability to direct our students into independence,” she said. “Everybody on board has a deep care for these students and for their success. And that makes all the difference.”