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Connecticut College Dining Services Recognized for Start on Success Program

June 16, 2008

Connecticut College's Department of Dining Services was recognized recently by the National Organization on Disability for its participation in the Start on Success Program (SOS), which provides introductory job experiences to high school students with physical, mental and sensory disabilities.

Connecticut College, the Regional Multicultural Magnet School and Lawrence & Memorial Hospital participated in the program this year. At Connecticut College, four students from New London High School were paid with funds from the National Organization on Disability to work at the dining hall for about an hour and a half three days a week during the 2007-2008 school year.

Ingrid Bushwack, director of dining services at Connecticut College, said the students provide crucial support during the school year, filling salt and pepper shakers, cleaning tables and performing other duties.

"Dining Services relies on the SOS program, as well as several other similar programs, to assist us with our labor needs," Bushwack said. "We feel that this is a win-win situation for all."

Tom Levanti, transition coordinator for New London High School, said students gain self-confidence and purpose under the program.

"It's because of the work experiences that places like Connecticut College have provided that students gain firsthand experience of the real world of work that they otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to have. Not only is it their first time exposed to the world of work, it's also giving them the chance to learn money management skills and to have social interactions with people in authority in their lives other than parents and teachers," Levanti said.

Since Old Lyme resident Charles Dey founded the program in 1994, SOS has expanded from a single pilot site with three interns to 50 work sites in 11 cities involving 31 schools. More than 2,000 high school students with disabilities have been trained for competitive employment.

Among the most selective private liberal arts colleges in the nation, Connecticut College enrolls 1,900 men and women from 41 states, the District of Columbia and 71 countries. The college is known for putting the liberal arts into action through interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. Founded in 1911, the college operates under an 86-year-old honor code. The college is located at 270 Mohegan Ave, New London, about two hours by car from Boston and New York. The 750-acre campus is an arboretum overlooking Long Island Sound. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.

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For more information contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu