Currently, less than 15% of adults with intellectual disabilities make a living wage in our state.
The lack of real employment opportunities, the lack of a living wage, the lack of full participation in our communities...all of these barriers and missed opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities can be attributed to minimal, sub-standard employment options.
The Redwood SEED Scholars Program aims to change that.
Our program keeps employment readiness and employment opportunities at the center. We build social skills that are crucial to success in employment settings in context. We create learning opportunities that build skills that will directly improve employment options. We use the Living Learning Lab as a place to develop, practice and increase communication skills, relationship skills, executive functioning skills and time management/organizational skills. This is done in context and with meaning. Our Foundational Courses work to develop and enrich employment skills. All parts of our program are meant to work together to develop the skills necessary for our students to be successful within their larger communities upon graduation.
Our students begin their first internship on the UC Davis campus in spring quarter of their first year. Each quarter thereafter our students will have internship and employment opportunities based on their person-centered plan, their areas of interest, their hopes and dreams for the future and their skill set. This means that the Redwood SEED Scholars will have ten different internship and employment experiences over the course of our four year program.
We build Ladders of Opportunity for employment that are customized and individualized for each scholar. This takes a general area of interest that the student may have and works to find an area on campus that could be a good fit for an internship opportunity. After that quarter, if the internship was a success, we will move to develop other skills or deepen already acquired skills with a different internship. It could be within the same area of interest or some place else.
Our goal is to offer choice to our students and to open up their understanding about what is possible when they consider the world of work. Having a world-class university willing to open its doors and share the diverse employment opportunities available is an incredible gift and our program takes full advantage of it.
We have two dedicated and experienced professionals supporting the Redwood SEED Scholars in Employment: Philip Leung - Employment Director - and Maggie Zheng - Employment/Internship Coordinator.
Both are dedicated to maximizing our campus opportunities, developing off-campus opportunities and building employment opportunities that are customized to each scholar’s skills, talents and interests.
THANK YOU to our amazing UC Davis Campus Partners:
UC Davis Media
UC Davis Police Department
UC Davis Library
UC Davis Veterinary Hospital
UC Davis Center for Companion Animal Health
UC Davis Women’s Volleyball Team
UC Davis Supply Chain Management
UC Davis Lab Safety Services
UC Davis Chemistry Department
UC Davis Student Disability Center
The Mondavi Center
Outdoor Adventures
The Craft Center
The ARC
THANK YOU to our off-campus partners as well, including:
Davis Forest School
Sowing Seeds of Independence, Friendship
Redwood SEED Scholar Karis Chun finds opportunity and support through her employment at the UC Davis Library. Read about her experience and that of her student mentor in this article published by the library.