Continuing to innovate and adapt to the growing and evolving needs of the community, we were proud to offer the first installment of the Your Next Star (YNS) Career Exploration Academy in partnership with Collettey’s Cookies. The Academy provided experiential training for 11 aspiring employees with Down syndrome ages 17-21 and prepared them for their transition out of school and into competitive employment in the workplace.
Over the course of three days, participants worked on everything from employment seeking skills, interpersonal and “people” skills, creative thinking, work ethic, teamwork, positivity, time management, and problem-solving. Each graduate went home with a student workbook full of activities and a certificate of completion. The Career Exploration Academy is the ideal introduction to Your Next Star programming, designed to complement transition programs with a focus on pre-skills for students before they enter the workforce.
