Monday, April 16, 2018

Think College Inclusion Oregon

Think College Inclusion Oregon (TICO)
Portland State University 

Portland State University now offers a four-year inclusive college experience for students with intellectual disabilities! This opportunity allows for students to earn a certificate in Career and Community Studies. Each student's college experience is designed to support inclusive academic and career experiences leading to meaningful employment, independent living skills and self determination. 

The program served five students in 2016-2017. The goal is to ramp up the number of served students to 35!  

Through Think College Inclusion Oregon, students partake in an individualized college experience. Students complete academic coursework and are immersed in the culture of campus life at Portland State University.

This opportunity was funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Model Comprehensive Transition and Post secondary Program for students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID). 

We graduate assistants, for the Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp, feel very proud to attend a University where inclusion is a priority. Hope you liked learning about this cool new and special opportunity for people who otherwise might not be able to earn a certificate at a University! 


Tuesday, November 21, 2017

What Counselors are Grateful For: Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp



What our counselors have shared about their camp experiences:


Camp made me realize that the relationships we build with those around us are the building blocks to living a joyful life. Sharing life with people makes it more valuable and meaningful.
 -Olivia Cornell Summer 2017 Counselor 



Every time someone has asked me about my experience at camp, my response is always “intense, but amazing, and the best two weeks of my life,” and that truly can’t sum it up better. 

 -Casey Brighid, Summer 2017 Counselor 


I met the most tenacious, gracious, focused and humorous group of humans of my life
 
-Josh Kanable, Summer 2017 Counselor 


During the two weeks at camp, I put my trust into the other counselors in my group and I was, so thankful that we all worked together as a team.  I never doubted them or second guessed their ability and at the end of the day we were like a family.  I learned that I was a leader and was able to help my fellow counselors in their time of need

-Tricia Demy, Summer 2017 Counselor   


I am blessed to be part of a camp that works with people with disabilities and giving campers the opportunity to feel accepted and loved like they deserve. 

-Jasmine Bucasas, Summer 2017 Counselor    


The most surprising part of camp was the coalition behind Kiwanis Camp. The boundless care and support put into every individual is something you would write about in a new world utopia. The patience and hard work that gives us the courage to do our job as a counselor, and hopefully extend those ethics to our daily lives. It’s the rare engagement people rarely witness in their nine to five that inspires us to wake up from our docile, screen absorbed existence and lend a hand to the mother struggling with her child in the mall or a man reaching from his wheelchair to the top shelf of a grocery aisle. 

-Bailey Broxson, Summer 2017 Counselor 

During camp I learned that every voice matters, and to promote social justice and equality. During camp, I learned to be an ally for persons with disabilities.

-Jean Bartlett, Summer 2017 Counselor 

 
 
Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp is a very special place. I have never seen anything like it. Those two weeks at camp were a couple of the most challenging weeks of my life, but also some of the most rewarding and life changing.

-Ally Bartlett, Summer 2016 Counselor 




There is no doubt that this experience has changed my life. It’s something that I have not been able to stop talking about and camp is a place that I still want to be. I want to go back so badly because what I never realized in the beginning was how much the campers and just whole experience would have an effect on me.
-Montana Walters, Summer 2016 Counselor 
 

We are thankful for our past counselors, and happy to share some of the beautiful things you all had to say. Thank you for your time up at camp! YOU ROCK!