College can seem daunting to first-year students – even more so if that student has an intellectual disability.

And while skills can be taught, perseverance and confidence can’t. Three students from Humber College’s Community Integration through Co-operative Education (CICE) spoke to an audience of their peers and supporters about the highs and lows of college life last week.

Student Evan Bacauanu and recent graduate Samir Patel had opportunities to develop independence, connect with like-minded individuals, and develop skills to use at work, home, and in the community.

“Spending time with friends, that’s my favourite part. Going to student council and parties, and how I feel when I’m with them,” said Evan.

Humber’s CICE program is the first of its kind in Ontario.

Samir smiles widely throughout the panel discussion following a screening of Intelligent Lives, which follows three students with intellectual disabilities as they navigate high school, college, and the workforce.

Samir “heard good things” about CICE and, was disappointed when he completed the program because he wouldn’t see his friends often anymore.

And, like Evan, Samir is proud to be a graduate of Humber’s program and is looking forward to the future, which he hopes will include owning his own hotel.

Advocacy and Support

Latoya Gibson-Cohne spoke alongside Evan and Samir to give the audience a different perspective. She worked with CICE students as part of her training in the Inclusive Resource Practice – Child and Family program.

“One of my major roles was to follow one specific client,” she said.

She and her client attended a course about the history of graphic design – a new subject for both of them. They started to notice posters with graphic designs they discussed in class.

Her role also included advocacy, and supporting her client’s own voice in the classroom.

“If they don’t understand a question, they have them question the instructor and look for things themselves. [The professor} would say ‘how about you look for this?’”

Working with adults wasn’t on Latoya’s radar when she started at Humber College. Her sister back home in Jamaica has special needs, and she assumed her work would be with children.

She found stark contrasts between Canadian and Jamaican advocacy and services.  Her family had to push to get her sister literacy support and into college.

"I loved it"

She found her client and their peers to be craving independence.

“It’s so heartwarming to see that they haven’t been labelled and their dreams don’t differ from ours.”

Evan’s ambitions are to enter a day program and “maybe in the future get more jobs.” He is currently volunteering for his placement at a nuclear waste management system.

Beyond his dreams of being a hotelier, Samir hopes to be involved with community.

“I am doing day programs at Community Living and I am on the board of directors.”

Latoya told the audience – filled with note-taking students – that her program has prepared her for future roles supporting people with special needs. Humber College’s efforts to connect her peers to CICE students weren’t lost on her.

“I bet you can tell that I loved it, right?”