Pathway Virtual Tour

Hello, my name is Wendy Abarca. I'm one of  the student advisers for Pathway, and I'm the  

community engagement specialist as well. So many  families might see me out in different transition  

fairs, or doing a part of the the in-person tours,  and I also support students while they're in the  

program, um, and also keep in touch with some of  our graduates after they've completed our program,  

And today we're going to talk about residential  and housing. What that looks like for a typical  

student, and what they're a part of while they're  with us. So, our students come in a week before  

academic classes actually begin, and so this  is orientation week. This is when students  

are becoming more familiar with the program,  with their roommates, with their suitemates,  

as well as becoming familiar with safety rules.  Getting phone numbers programmed into their cell  

phones, as as well as um, with staff support,  understanding things that they're going to be  

responsible for now. So things such as chores,  um, having conversations with their roommates,  

conflict resolution. All of those different  things are things that students are touching  

on during orientation week, as well as  travel training throughout campus, um,  

and so that's really a lot of what's  happening during orientation week. Um,  

our building, or the building that our students  are residing in, it's um, the Midvale Apartments,  

and so it's an inclusive building. Pathway  does not own that building, um, but it is, um,  

a really great way for students to become familiar  with the campus, the community. Um, the building  

also houses a lot of, uh, current graduate  and undergraduate students in the community,  

and it is very close to campus, um, so students  are able to still utilize those resources that  

they have available to them um on campus and and  throughout Westwood. Evening support is available  

for our students that are residing in the  apartments. Um, they have supports in the evening,  

and then the weekends that they can contact in  case of any concerns questions, or emergencies  

that might come up, um, for students that, um,  are in our program. We also encourage that they  

apply for regional center support, or have  um those services available, so they can, um,  

also have access to what are called SLS support,  or supported living skills support, and this is um  

uh supports that will be able to come in and  work with the students throughout the day,  

on things that they need to continue learning, or  practicing, to continue living independently from  

the family home. So these could be things such as  cooking, money management, uh, travel training,  

uh, meal planning. So all of those things that  are individualized to that specific student. Um,  

here you can see also a list of the accommodations  that our students have, are the residences that  

our students are in. They are in two bedroom,  two bath apartments and, um, each one does come  

partially furnished, which you see here, and, um,  this is pretty much, you know, a really great way  

for students to just be able to practice that  independence, and continue, um, learning and  

growing as they participate in our program. Here  you see an illustration of a typical two-bedroom  

two bath unit. Um, the slight difference would  be that each bedroom would have two beds and two  

desks, um, for each student that reside. And each  unit consists of Four Pathway students, either  

four ladies or four gentlemen, um, that will  share the unit. In the middle is a common space  

which all students share, which is the living  room, dining room and full kitchen area. [Music]  

So those are some images from the building, and  the amenities that the students have access to  

here. Here they are listed as well. A lot of our  students really enjoy the study lounge, which is  

a designated quiet space that students would  have access to, to be away from distractions,  

get some good study time in, as well as  enjoying the swimming pool and jacuzzi area,  

where students relax, and just are able to enjoy  that common space. Families really get to enjoy  

also the package lockers, so families can send  out care packages, or welcome packages to their  

students, as needed, um, and students also have  access to a lot of the, uh, pickup and drop off  

locations in the Westwood Community to be able to  receive or send out those care packages as well.

So, something that I get a lot of questions about  as a program director is, how do we fill out our  

application? When do we fill it out? Is there  money that's set aside for students for programs  

like pathway? So this is a little overview of our  admissions and application process. So what makes  

a good applicant for pathway? The first thing  is that the student has to be at least 18. Our  

students are adults, we want to treat them as  adults, so 18 to 25 is our age range. Now, you  

can turn 26 in the program but when you start the  program you should be between 18 and 25 years old.  

We also want to make sure that our students have  an intellectual or developmental diagnosis. That  

is the type of student that our program caters to,  so that is very important as well. Also, we want  

to make sure that our students can start in fall,  so we do not have students start in Winter, or  

spring. We want to make sure all of our students  are starting together, so making sure that  

students can start in September is very important  to us. We also need to identify that the student  

has completed high school. Now, this can be with  a certificate of completion or this can be with  

a diploma, either one is fine, just that they have  completed high school. And of course if you are in  

your senior year, you can submit during the senior  year, just let us know you'll be graduating that  

June. We also need to make sure that students have  a fourth grade reading comprehension level. Some  

of our students far surpass that but, especially  for our core classes, we are modifying the content  

for how our students best learn, and that's  a good baseline for us. So fourth grade would  

be the baseline for reading comprehension that we  feel is necessary to be successful in our courses.  

Additionally, students need to be able to manage  their own time, so that means literally telling  

time, and also having some experience managing  their schedule. So, that can be making their  

own doctor's appointments, that might consist of  managing their extracurricular activities, but  

making sure that they have a sense of time, and  are able to manage it. And we also want to make  

sure that our students have had some experiences  that are going to help them be successful at  

Pathway, so this can be anything from clubs  and high school to maybe having a part-time job  

volunteering at their Temple or church, activities  that are showing some level of responsibility. And  

also engagement in their school or Community.  We also like to make sure that students have a  

support system, and this is really one of the key  things that we stress when interviewing a student.  

Not only do we want the student to be excited  about Pathway, but we want their family to be  

excited about it as well. So, knowing that during  breaks our students are going going back to a home  

where their family is supporting the program,  where they are retaining some of those concepts  

that we're working so hard on during the program,  that's very important. And also the financial  

support of their family. Typically our students  are not paying for this program on their own,  

so having financial support as well as emotional  support from the family is super important. We  

also want to make sure that our students are able  to navigate campus successfully, and that doesn't  

mean you have to have UCLA campus memorized or  anything like that, but just that you've had  

some experience navigating your own community, So  being able to maybe take a public bus, or being  

able to order an Uber by yourself, knowing how to  walk to the grocery store and purchase some milk,  

all of those skills are going to be really  helpful in Westwood, and as a Pathway student. So,  

definitely navigation, and maybe practicing  those navigation skills before the program, is  

really going to give you a leg up once you get to  Westwood. We also want to make sure that students  

possess safety skills. So, in the program, you're  not going to be monitored 24/7. You're an adult.  

There are going to be times when you're in your  apartment by yourself, or you're going to be in  

Westwood with a friend, so we want to make sure  that in the community, you're able to be safe when  

it comes to traffic, understanding crosswalks and  things like that. Also, that you have some basic  

safety skills in the kitchen, so you know how  to use a knife properly, you know how to use the  

stove. Of course, some of these can be emerging  skills and we can continue to work on them at  

Pathway but basic safety skills at home and in  the community are definitely a prerequisite.  

And then we also want to make sure that you are  either a regional center client, or that you are  

able to pay separately for those supported living  skills, so we work with a vendor that is a vendor  

of Regional Center called Level Up Solutions, and  if you are a client of Regional Center, that's  

supported living. Those 5 to 15 hours of supported  living a week that can be covered by Regional  

Center, or have the ability as a family to pay  for that privately, and then the application. So,  

if you are watching this tour you're already in  the right place but we do want to make sure that  

you know about our application cycles. So we are  looking at applications for the following fall,  

December 3 through March. So, if you're going to  be a residential student we'd really recommend,  

for example, if you're looking at next fall the  prior December through March to start getting  

those applications in. As a residential student,  we're a little more lenient with commuters,  

you can apply all the way until June of that year.  We just want to make sure that we have ample time  

to review applications, and it is a rolling  process, so the sooner you get your application  

in the sooner we can review it. And from the  time you submit your application that's usually  

a 6 to 8 week period, we also do our applications  online, so no need to send anything in the mail.  

Everything you're going to do for the application  you can complete online, and when we look at your  

application we are going to see if you would  qualify for an interview. So, you turn in your  

application and then within 2 to 4 weeks the next  step would be getting an invitation to interview  

you, and then with funding. A lot of times people  are thinking about typical college programs and  

FAFSA, and what Pathway qualifies for. So we  do qualify for the FAFSA, within the FAFSA,  

what we qualify for is something called the  pel grant so that is a potential funding source  

that might be applicable for your student. We  also have a private scholarship fund. Again,  

we do that based on need, so you would have  to fill out the FAFSA as well to qualify for  

the private scholarship fund. We are also  seeing self-determination really take off,  

which is a program through Regional Center.  So that means that instead of Regional Center  

deciding where your money goes for education,  you can self-determine where those funds go. So,  

if you are doing the self-determination program  that could be a source of funding, or just  

talking to your Regional Center in general about  funding the Pathway Program, and also Department  

of Rehabilitation is a great funding source as  well. We have had students funded through them,  

so that is something to look into as well. And, of  course, there are private scholarships available  

through different organizations and many of those  are listed on think.net, so that is a great source  

to look at some of the diagnosis-specific  scholarships that might be available to you.

Here we'll go over the program requirements  for Pathway Students. So, students are taking  

a combination of core classes. These are  classes that are required for our students,  

they are solely for our Pathway students, and they  focus on general life skills and all executive  

functioning skills. And then students are also  doing what we call elective courses. These are  

classes that are fully inclusive with other UCLA  students on campus, and these can be a combination  

of UCLA recreation classes, which tend to  be more classes that are leisure. So these  

could be classes such as archery, jazz, mixed  martial arts, etc. There are drawing classes,  

and fine arts classes as well. Students can also  choose to take UCLA Extension classes potentially  

for transferable credit, if the student  decides that that's what their goal would  

be. These are classes that could potentially  um qualify them for additional certificates,  

for them to be able to start while they're in  our program, and students may also choose to  

audit classes through the US register. The  students are not enrolled in audit classes,  

but students really get a sense of  being able to understand their learning,  

and be able to communicate with their Pathway  adviser on some of the things that they want  

to focus on during these audit classes. This is  something where they will work with our Pathway  

adviser on what are some of the things that they  want to identify, focus, practice and strengthen  

as they matriculate through the program. Students  are also required to do an internship experience  

based around their interests. Internships will  typically take place their second year, and there  

is communication throughout their first year with  their Pathway adviser, and the employment advisor,  

on what their goals are. What are some of the  things that they could work on, or potentially  

classes that they could take that could focus  them towards their short-term and long-term

goals? So, we are going to look at a couple  different schedules, starting with the first-year  

fall schedule. This would be a student who is  a full-time student here at Pathway, and you  

can see the different courses that they take to  sort of get acclimated to the program and really  

start their journey here. You can see we have  computer lab, where we focus on some different  

computer skills that our students are going to  need to be successful in college. They're also  

doing a course called level lab that is through  our regional center vendor, Level Up Solutions,  

and they'll do that course just to talk about a  different aspect of independent living each week.  

Anything from planning for a trip on their own  to how they might budget their week, to different  

cooking demonstrations. All of that is covered in  Level Up. Then we have our core courses, so that  

includes time management which every college  freshman can use, and that is a class where  

students think about, "okay what are my priorities  as a student? What is a want to versus a have-to?  

In general how am I best managing my time now that  I'm transitioning into adulthood?" We also offer  

our human relationships and sexuality class. You  can see that is a course that goes over the basics  

of the different relationships students might  have, both personal, professional, friendships,  

romantic relationships, in college, and how to  approach them. And then we also make sure that our  

students have all the resources needed in order  to understand human relationships and their own  

sexuality as well. Health and nutrition is another  required course, especially because students are  

making choices about their food for the first  time, maybe this is the first time they're grocery  

shopping for themselves, or ordering their own  food. Each week, this class allows students to  

understand how different foods break down into the  body, what are the different systems of the body,  

and really decoding those nutrition facts on  different food labels, so a very important class.  

We can see with this student they are also doing  a recreation class so they picked jazz. Perhaps  

that's an interest of theirs, and then a more  physical recreation class in boxing. You can also  

see that students have their advising sessions.  In this case the student's adviser is Wendy,  

so they're meeting with her each week to talk  about how their courses are going making sure they  

have all the resources they need to be successful  and manage their time. Then they're also meeting  

with their Ed coach so this is that one-on-one  tutor who's a UCLA student that works with our  

student on homework, and also mentorship, and then  you see these supported living skills hours. So,  

those are one-on-one sessions. In this case, with  Bella, where students are learning from their  

supported living skills staff on how to do things  like budgeting, how to manage roommate conflicts,  

how to clean their apartment. Anything the student  needs that will be used to live independently, and  

have those skills, is what the supported living  coach is for, and that makes up that first quarter  

fall schedule. Alright, so in a second schedule,  it's a little bit different. What we're seeing  

change is now our student is doing an internship.  So this student is at the theater Department doing  

some work in production. The student also has an  interest in rock and roll, and music, so they're  

taking an audit class that is music-based.  When they meet with their adviser weekly,  

they are talking about the course and identifying  that student's interest, and also modifying  

content for how the student best learns. We can  see they're also taking an Extension course, so  

we're seeing a theme here with music supervision,  film/television, this student is very interested  

in the Arts, so that shows in the Extension  course they're taking as well. We can also see  

the student is working on their public speaking.  They're going to a Toast Masters Club each week,  

and then they're checking in with the other  interns who are part of Pathway at the internship  

seminar, and working with our vocational advisor  identifying new internship goals each week,  

and sharing how the internship is going with their  peers. They also still have that educational coach  

who they're working on homework with, and  mentorship, and then they have the option of  

going to social events, which happen Mondays,  Thursdays and Saturdays. And of course they  

are still participating in the supported living  skills sessions, and continuing to work on their  

independence. So that is a typical second-year  schedule and, as we mentioned, internship  

opportunities are really a crucial part of the  college experience and something our students  

really look forward to. So as you can see, we have  had students do a variety of internships. Those  

internships can be paid or unpaid, just depending  on the student's level of experience and the field  

they are in. So different internship sites:  you can see our students working at the gym,  

working at the Ronald Reagan Hospital, working  at one of the prominent regional theaters in  

Los Angeles. We also have students who are  very interested in working within academia,  

so we have great relationships with the UCLA  Extension engineering department, also the arts  

department as well. Additionally, we have students  who have even sought their own internships going  

to places like LAPD, also working with Fox  Studios, being part of the entertainment  

industry here in Los Angeles, and child care  is a big one. Often students will do a child  

care internship either at Creger on campus, or at  Westwood Presbyterian Preschool, and then maybe  

pair that with a certificate in Early Childhood  Education, and our internships are always growing.  

So, as students tell us what their interests  are, our vocational adviser is really working  

to make sure that we have internships in those  fields, and always adding to that list. [Music]