Reflecting on my 2014 MAC fellowship experience:
What did you like about working at MAC, what was the best part of your job?
What I liked about working at MAC is working with the staff and talking to them and I liked sharing an office with people that were Law interns and I liked working on many projects and going to trainings. I liked working with the other fellow and I liked doing work for the office manager Tania when I asked her. The best part of my job was working on word documents and PowerPoints and going to IEP and staff meetings.
Why was this best part of your job?
Why this was the best part of my job is because I liked working on the computer and typing out documents and PowerPoints, Web learning how to do PowerPoints and Data entry. I like focusing on 1 thing at a time. The computer is good this way. Another best part was going to the IEP and staff meetings. This was the best too because I liked new things during meetings. I liked being at IEP meetings because I made a difference for a student. He told me he was nervous or anxious about going to college and I helped him by saying I was a little nervous too from being away from home. At the team meeting I started to tell the student a little about the Threshold program at Lesley but I told him more when he came in for another meeting.
Why did you like doing this?
Why I liked doing this is because I like working on many different tasks and projects. I liked working computers. I am good with computers and any technology.
There are four main parts to your job here at MAC: office work, lobbying at the Statehouse, going to TEAM meetings, and doing trainings in the community. What did you expect about your job here before you came to work at MAC?
What I did expect about my job here before I came to work at MAC is I was told some things here before I started after I had the interview I think. I met a few of the staff. I was told about I will be going to the statehouse. I would be going with Julia Landau or Tina. I was told I would going to Trainings too. They would be on bullying or Transition. I expected I would be doing some kind of office work and maybe I would go to the statehouse.
What are the parts that were what you expected?
The parts that were what I had expected are I was told about the trainings and about somewhat of the Autism and staff meetings and the group lunches on Thursdays. I would be working on IEP on the Autism spectrum and I would be attending IEP team meetings.
What were the parts that were different from what you expected?
The parts that were different from what I expected was I didn’t know that the office manager Tania only worked until 2pm everyday. Another thing that was different was the trainings I attended. Other parts that happened that were different from what I expected is I had to change my schedule a few times here. I had to change it when we got the other youth fellow. The law interns that were here and two staff people left. I didn’t not expected the two staff would leave. I did not know they would bring in Lumene and I would help her but I am glad help and train her. I did a lot of contributing at meetings.
What did you like about sharing an office with law interns?
I shared an office with law interns. Their names were Mike, Tim, Oren, Ricky and Gabby and Jodi. They left and I had a hard time dealing with the change when they left. Jodi is still here she did not leave yet. I did like sharing an office with all of the law interns. I like meeting them and getting to them during coffee talks. I shared ideas with them too.
What did you learn about working at MAC from the law interns? How did they help you to understand your job here at MAC better?
What I learned about working at MAC from the law interns is that we would talk about what kind of work we were working on here at MAC and how future work would impact special education. We shared and discussed work topics and life experiences.
What did you learn about special education that you didn’t know before you came to MAC?
What I learned about special education that I didn’t know before I came to MAC is I knew in schools they accept students with disabilities and they would have a program when they would stay back until 22 after they graduated. They have the ICE program which people can take regular education and special education classes at college and still be enrolled in high school.
You went to your own TEAM meetings before you came to MAC. How were the meetings you went to while working here different from your own TEAM meetings?
How the team meetings I went to while working here were different from my own meetings is that the people at my meetings did not really talk about transition like going to college, work and living on my own and how it would work with me. Unlike how they would talk about it at the student meeting I went to.
You reviewed information about the cases before TEAM meetings you attended. How helpful was the preparation for the TEAM meeting?
I reviewed information about cases before team meetings I attended. How the preparation was helpful for the team meeting is it was very helpful to prepare before I went to the meeting and I got to learn about the child/student ahead of time. It was interesting.
What did you learn about the how the legislature works that you didn’t know before you came to MAC?
What I did learn about how the legislature works that I didn’t know before I came to MAC is that for a new bill to become a law for the state it goes down to governor for him to read and sign once some people in the House have already read it.
You reviewed information about the bills before going to meetings at the legislature. Was the preparation for meetings helpful?
I reviewed information about the bills before going to meetings at the legislature. The preparation for the meetings was very helpful because I got to learn about the new bill and I like learning new kinds of work. I got to learn more about how a bill becomes a law from documents or videos that got sent to me.
What did you learn about the importance and role of Advocates and advocating for others you didn’t know before you came to MAC?
What I did learn about the importance and role of Advocates and advocates for others that I didn’t know before I came to MAC is I knew advocating for yourself is being more independent and being able to think and do things for yourself and not rely on other people for help all the time.
What did you learn about advocating at TEAM meetings?
What I did learn about advocating at TEAM meetings when I would attend a TEAM meeting if it is a staff meeting at MAC or an IEP TEAM meeting is I would listen to a person when they would speak and I would write down notes or ask questions. I would listen to one person at a time and not interrupt and I would make good eye contact. I would talk about the student if I had something to say about the person.
What did you learn about advocating by lobbying at the legislature?
What I did learn about advocating by lobbying at the legislature is that when I would to go with Julia or Tina I would bring a pen so I write down notes if we met with a Representative, Senator or Senator’s Aide. I listened to what they had to say after Julia would tell them about a bill and why it should get passed.
What did you learn about advocating by participating at community trainings?
What I did learn about advocating by participating at community trainings is that I would present a PowerPoint presentation on what the training would be about if it is on Bullying or Transition. My presentation would be on College, work, and living on my own and I would presentation after Johanne would present on the topic or after the other fellow would give her presentation. If any of the students in the training would ask questions I would answer them. I would tell them about the college I went to and how I got live on my own and be independent.
What did you learn about advocating for yourself in the workplace that you didn’t know before you came to work at MAC?
What I did learn about advocating for myself in the workplace that I didn’t know before I came to work at MAC is I knew of how to listen to people in the workplace like my supervisor or other co-workers. In any kind of work if they would say hi or good morning I would say it back. I would talk to co-workers because I am people person.
What did you learn about what new things you are able to do that you didn’t know before you came to MAC?
What I did learn about what new things I am able to do that I didn’t know before I came to MAC is I am able to remember numbers and do math in my head. I am very good at following directions and telling people directions. I am very good at working on computers or any kind of technology and figuring them out. When I am used to the same routine or the same task somebody has told me before I would remember it and get it done before they ask me.
What new skills did you learn at the job?
What new skills I learned at the job were how to make a good compromise with a few people or more of to talk about a situation and think of ways it can work for everyone. I learned how to be flexible on the job and be able to make a change and be comfortable with it. If I was working on something I would be flexible and to a different task and then go back to complete the last thing I was working on.
What I liked about working at MAC is working with the staff and talking to them and I liked sharing an office with people that were Law interns and I liked working on many projects and going to trainings. I liked working with the other fellow and I liked doing work for the office manager Tania when I asked her. The best part of my job was working on word documents and PowerPoints and going to IEP and staff meetings.
Why was this best part of your job?
Why this was the best part of my job is because I liked working on the computer and typing out documents and PowerPoints, Web learning how to do PowerPoints and Data entry. I like focusing on 1 thing at a time. The computer is good this way. Another best part was going to the IEP and staff meetings. This was the best too because I liked new things during meetings. I liked being at IEP meetings because I made a difference for a student. He told me he was nervous or anxious about going to college and I helped him by saying I was a little nervous too from being away from home. At the team meeting I started to tell the student a little about the Threshold program at Lesley but I told him more when he came in for another meeting.
Why did you like doing this?
Why I liked doing this is because I like working on many different tasks and projects. I liked working computers. I am good with computers and any technology.
There are four main parts to your job here at MAC: office work, lobbying at the Statehouse, going to TEAM meetings, and doing trainings in the community. What did you expect about your job here before you came to work at MAC?
What I did expect about my job here before I came to work at MAC is I was told some things here before I started after I had the interview I think. I met a few of the staff. I was told about I will be going to the statehouse. I would be going with Julia Landau or Tina. I was told I would going to Trainings too. They would be on bullying or Transition. I expected I would be doing some kind of office work and maybe I would go to the statehouse.
What are the parts that were what you expected?
The parts that were what I had expected are I was told about the trainings and about somewhat of the Autism and staff meetings and the group lunches on Thursdays. I would be working on IEP on the Autism spectrum and I would be attending IEP team meetings.
What were the parts that were different from what you expected?
The parts that were different from what I expected was I didn’t know that the office manager Tania only worked until 2pm everyday. Another thing that was different was the trainings I attended. Other parts that happened that were different from what I expected is I had to change my schedule a few times here. I had to change it when we got the other youth fellow. The law interns that were here and two staff people left. I didn’t not expected the two staff would leave. I did not know they would bring in Lumene and I would help her but I am glad help and train her. I did a lot of contributing at meetings.
What did you like about sharing an office with law interns?
I shared an office with law interns. Their names were Mike, Tim, Oren, Ricky and Gabby and Jodi. They left and I had a hard time dealing with the change when they left. Jodi is still here she did not leave yet. I did like sharing an office with all of the law interns. I like meeting them and getting to them during coffee talks. I shared ideas with them too.
What did you learn about working at MAC from the law interns? How did they help you to understand your job here at MAC better?
What I learned about working at MAC from the law interns is that we would talk about what kind of work we were working on here at MAC and how future work would impact special education. We shared and discussed work topics and life experiences.
What did you learn about special education that you didn’t know before you came to MAC?
What I learned about special education that I didn’t know before I came to MAC is I knew in schools they accept students with disabilities and they would have a program when they would stay back until 22 after they graduated. They have the ICE program which people can take regular education and special education classes at college and still be enrolled in high school.
You went to your own TEAM meetings before you came to MAC. How were the meetings you went to while working here different from your own TEAM meetings?
How the team meetings I went to while working here were different from my own meetings is that the people at my meetings did not really talk about transition like going to college, work and living on my own and how it would work with me. Unlike how they would talk about it at the student meeting I went to.
You reviewed information about the cases before TEAM meetings you attended. How helpful was the preparation for the TEAM meeting?
I reviewed information about cases before team meetings I attended. How the preparation was helpful for the team meeting is it was very helpful to prepare before I went to the meeting and I got to learn about the child/student ahead of time. It was interesting.
What did you learn about the how the legislature works that you didn’t know before you came to MAC?
What I did learn about how the legislature works that I didn’t know before I came to MAC is that for a new bill to become a law for the state it goes down to governor for him to read and sign once some people in the House have already read it.
You reviewed information about the bills before going to meetings at the legislature. Was the preparation for meetings helpful?
I reviewed information about the bills before going to meetings at the legislature. The preparation for the meetings was very helpful because I got to learn about the new bill and I like learning new kinds of work. I got to learn more about how a bill becomes a law from documents or videos that got sent to me.
What did you learn about the importance and role of Advocates and advocating for others you didn’t know before you came to MAC?
What I did learn about the importance and role of Advocates and advocates for others that I didn’t know before I came to MAC is I knew advocating for yourself is being more independent and being able to think and do things for yourself and not rely on other people for help all the time.
What did you learn about advocating at TEAM meetings?
What I did learn about advocating at TEAM meetings when I would attend a TEAM meeting if it is a staff meeting at MAC or an IEP TEAM meeting is I would listen to a person when they would speak and I would write down notes or ask questions. I would listen to one person at a time and not interrupt and I would make good eye contact. I would talk about the student if I had something to say about the person.
What did you learn about advocating by lobbying at the legislature?
What I did learn about advocating by lobbying at the legislature is that when I would to go with Julia or Tina I would bring a pen so I write down notes if we met with a Representative, Senator or Senator’s Aide. I listened to what they had to say after Julia would tell them about a bill and why it should get passed.
What did you learn about advocating by participating at community trainings?
What I did learn about advocating by participating at community trainings is that I would present a PowerPoint presentation on what the training would be about if it is on Bullying or Transition. My presentation would be on College, work, and living on my own and I would presentation after Johanne would present on the topic or after the other fellow would give her presentation. If any of the students in the training would ask questions I would answer them. I would tell them about the college I went to and how I got live on my own and be independent.
What did you learn about advocating for yourself in the workplace that you didn’t know before you came to work at MAC?
What I did learn about advocating for myself in the workplace that I didn’t know before I came to work at MAC is I knew of how to listen to people in the workplace like my supervisor or other co-workers. In any kind of work if they would say hi or good morning I would say it back. I would talk to co-workers because I am people person.
What did you learn about what new things you are able to do that you didn’t know before you came to MAC?
What I did learn about what new things I am able to do that I didn’t know before I came to MAC is I am able to remember numbers and do math in my head. I am very good at following directions and telling people directions. I am very good at working on computers or any kind of technology and figuring them out. When I am used to the same routine or the same task somebody has told me before I would remember it and get it done before they ask me.
What new skills did you learn at the job?
What new skills I learned at the job were how to make a good compromise with a few people or more of to talk about a situation and think of ways it can work for everyone. I learned how to be flexible on the job and be able to make a change and be comfortable with it. If I was working on something I would be flexible and to a different task and then go back to complete the last thing I was working on.