StudentS preSent at State of the art ConferenCeIn thIS ISSue

REACH Internship Spotlight

Fifth-annual REACH Gala

Juniors Emeline Wolff and Mary Lucas and senior Matthew Raczka represented the REACH Program as presenters and a keynote speaker, respectively, at the 2014 State of the Art Conference on Postsecondary Education and Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities.

Wolff and Lucas presented alongside Edie Cusack, REACH Executive Director, and Lisa Christian, REACH Support Coordinator for the Senior Cohort. The presentation, A Look at How Personal Safety Groups Foster Independent Living, discussed how personal safety oriented educational groups educate and empower students as they transition through post-secondary programs and post-graduation life. Wolff and Lucas shared their experiences in the safety groups and reflected on how it has helped them take charge of their personal safety on and off campus. Raczka spoke about his experiences at the College.

The students and staff had the opportunity to meet

and speak with influential leaders in post-secondary education: Stephanie Smith Lee, former Director of the Office of Special Education Programs and current Chair of the Think College Accreditation Workgroup, Dr. Melody Musgrove, Director of the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education, and Madeline Will, former Assistant Secretary US Department of Education and co-founder of Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination.

Before presenting, students took the time to explore Washington, DC,

including the Smithsonian Museums, the Washington Memorial and the White House. After taking a picture in front of the White House Gates, Wolff said that she was very excited to check that off her bucket list.

Students Mary Lucas, Matthew Raczka, Emeline Wolff and Executive Director Edie Cusack at the State of the Art Conference.

Wolff in front of the White House.

REACH Professor Spotlight

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fIfth-annual reaCh gala SuCCeedS In raISIng fundS for StudentS

The REACH Program held its fifth-annual gala, “REACHing for the Stars,” on Friday, Sept. 26 at the Daniel Island Club. The event saw over 165 supporters and raised over $70,000.

Both the REACH staff and the gala co-chairs, Lisa Leask and Shana Meyer, worked throughout the summer and beginning of the year to gather donations for auction items as well as sponsors for the Gala.

The REACH Gala works to provide scholarship opportunities for students in the REACH Program

and funds to support the Program’s initiatives.

REACH Program Executive Director, Edie Cusack, said, “Funds raised at the gala will directly support students and enable them to remain in the REACH Program and continue to learn the skills needed to live as independent, successful adults.”

The Program would like to thank all who attended, participated and donated to the Gala this year. Without the support and generosity, the Gala would not have been nearly as successful.

Students Randon Strange, Rollins Burnam, Drew Hendricks andExecutive Director Edie Cusack at the fifth-annual REACH Gala.

exeCutIve dIreCtor meetS leaderS at State of the art ConferenCe

Stephanie Smith Lee, Edie Cusack, Melody Musgrove and Madeline Will

Each year, some of the most prominent people in field education attend the State of the Art Conference on Postsecondary Education and Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities and this year’s conference was no exception. Our Executive Director, Edie Cusack, was able to meet with several distinguished players and discuss the laws, trends, and standards that effect students in postsecondary programs, like REACH:

Stephanie Smith Lee, Chair of the Think College Accreditation Workgroup

and former Director of the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education;

Dr. Melody Musgrove, Director of the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education; and

Madeline Will, co-founder of the Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination.

To Edie’s surprise, all three women knew about the REACH Program and had wonderful things to say about the Program and her leadership.

New REACH staff members, Betsy Harper and Kasey English.

new Staff joIn the reaCh team

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Joining at the start of the 2014 - 2015 academic year, new mentor coordinator Betsy Harper and new administrative assistant Kasey English bring their passion for students and excitement for the Program and college to the REACH team.

Betsy Harper came to the Program after completing her Masters in Higher Education Administration at the University of Denver. She concentrated her studies on diversity in higher learning.

Before then, Harper worked with a non-profit program, School’s Out, within the Charleston County School District that aimed to bring the community back into local schools. She managed a community learning center at Pepper Hill Elementary for a year, and then James Simmons Elementary for an

additional year. She followed this experience by working at PowerScore Test Preparation.

Harper said that she always knew she had wanted to work in education, but her experiences helped her determine that she wanted to work within the college level.

Harper is excited to be working so closely with students in the Program. She said that she enjoys working directly with them and creating relationships. She is excited to grow these relationships as she continues with the Program.

Kasey English attended the College of Charleston and studied Communication, as well as Studio Art and Computer Science. While at the College, she worked with New Student Programs as a Summer Preview peer mentor and an Orientation intern.

Following that, English was an assistant manager for the downtown and Mount Pleasant locations of HandPicked. She started as a fashion consultant in college, and ended up staying with the company for four years. She worked in three different cities and at seven different locations, though she was very happy for the opportunity to return to Charleston.

English actually worked for the REACH Program when it first started. Executive Director Edie Cusack recruited her to

design flyers and other materials for the Program. English considered her new position as coming full circle, as she’s working on design and much more.

English said that she loves that she’s constantly learning new skills and working on many different projects. She also said that she has found her knowledge of the College a great tool, and one she can share both with the REACH staff and the students. She is excited to see what the next semester brings.

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profeSSor SpotlIght | dr. hunt

Dr. Hunt with her dog, competing in agility and obedience.

Since first working with REACH students in 2011, Dr. Caroline Hunt has brought her wealth of experience and passion for academics to the students she has taught.

From the start of her teaching career in 1965, non-traditional students have appealed to Hunt. She said that she sees REACH students as a continuation of that appeal.

In her freshmen English course, Hunt has developed a project that models a disability exercise where the students “become” blind, deaf or mobility impaired for a day and then write up their findings. “This has been one of the most useful and popular assignments. In short, REACH students have helped broaden minds,” Hunt said.

Hunt started teaching at the College of Charleston in 1976, and has taught or lectured in every School. Within the English Department, she has taught many courses, but considers Freshman Composition her favorite.

Hunt has many awards, including the College of Charleston Advising Prize, Research Prize, Teaching Prize and Service Prize. She currently holds the title of Marybelle Higgins Howe Professor of English, Emerita.

Outside of the College, Hunt is certified by the

National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors. She presents therapy dog workshops, teaches basic obedience and rally and is an evaluator for the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen program.

Hunt’s dogs compete in obedience, rally and agility and also visit local hospitals and nursing homes as therapy dogs.

“I think activities like this definitely helps keep any teacher sane,” Hunt said. “I’m always well exercised from the competitions, and spending time with the ill and the dying can certainly keep minor frustrations just that, minor in real perspective.”

Education Background

BA: Harvard, 1963:summa cum laude

BA: St. Anne’s, Oxford, 1965: first class

PhD: Harvard, 1970

PrEvious EmPloymEnt

Clark University,Adjunct Professor

Radcliffe College,Associate Dean

Arcadia University,Assistant Professor

Miniversity of Philadelphia,Faculty Member

Sophomore performS for exam

Kalista performing as Sherlock Holmes for his theatre final.

For the final exam in his Introduction to Theatre course, sophomore Sam Kalista worked in a group to develop and perform an original play. Students created their own script for a ten minute play.

Kalista’s group chose to develop his suggestion, Sherlock Holmes. Kalista himself played the title character.

His professor, Laura Turner, said that he was a valued member of his project group. “He is so creative and his team members appreciated all he brought to the table,” Turner said.

Turner said, “Sam is a gifted actor, which he showed by playing a Sherlock Holmes character without any hesitation.”

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InternShIp SpotlIght | doCent at the old exChange BuIldIng

Many may ask, “Is the Old Exchange Building a fancy architectural jewel designed to house 18th-century assemblies? Or is it the ghoulish prison of the Revolution, the place where the martyr Isaac Hayne spent his last night? Or is it the place where George Washington greeted his fellow citizens? And there is no question that slaves were sold for generations next to the very balcony from which the Declaration of Independence was read.”

Senior Blake Hendricks knows the answers to these

questions and more, thanks to his internship at The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon. He has worked as a docent for the fall semester.

Hendricks has an incredible knowledge of local history, which helps him provide excellent customer service. He loves getting to tell visitors about the history of the building.

Mike Coker, Hendrick’s supervisor, said “Blake is a very honest hardworking young man and knows the history very well.”

Mike and some of the other staff members have been mentoring Blake and helping prepare for his ultimate goal, which is to obtain is tour guide certification.

The REACH staff is thankful for the continued support of the on-campus and off-campus internship sites. It is because of these invaluable experiences, our students gain the marketable skills needed to be competitive in the work force when they graduate.

Hendricks in period clothes.

CourSe SpotlIght | aCademIC wrItIng wIth profeSSor Kelly owen

Professor Kelly Owen

While browsing the local newspaper, professor Kelly Owen was intrigued by an ad to take the step into teaching here at the College of Charleston, which was known then as “The University of Charleston.”

With Owen’s educational background including a Master’s Degree in English from both the College of Charleston and the Citadel, her Academic Writing course challenges her students in all aspects.

Numerous writing skills, various compositions, and the contemplations of life

itself are what Owen hopes her students take from her Academic Writing course.

Those skills and many more are what drove her to write her first book The College Chronicles; Freshman Milestones.

Owens’ inspiration for writing The College Chronicles came from a former student with the famous words, “skip lines,” written on her hand. Owen had given this assignment, an assignment in which her students had to “skip lines” in responses to leave room for her comments, numerous

times but it been until this moment that those words rang so true in her heart; the words began to flow like rain.

In her spare time when she is not teaching or writing, Owen likes to take in all that Charleston has to offer. She enjoys running and traveling with her husband Matt and spending time with her boxers Lyra and Huxley.

reaChIng out | SoCIalmentor SpotlIght | wIll B.

Social mentor, Will B. playing bass for his band, Corrine.

Since joining the REACH team as a social mentor this fall, junior Will Bragunier has grown to appreciate mentoring as a way to build relationships and get involved. “Having such a positive impact on someone else’s life, who I had no contact with prior to the program, is an incredibly humbling experience,” Bragunier said.

Bragunier said that he has learned so much and has been surprised since becoming a mentor. “I think the biggest surprise is how much fun mentoring is. I enjoy spending time with my mentee,” he said. “He is not just my mentee, but I consider him a friend.”

“I’ve learned that we need to be more grateful for what we have and appreciate the little things we take

junIor prepareS for a SprIng BreaK of ServICe In CuBa

Spring Break is a common week for college students to kick back in warm weather, only thinking about how to enjoy their time off. This is not true for junior Mary Lucas. Instead, she will be focusing on others while on a service trip to Cuba through the Bonner Leader Program, a service organization on campus.

Lucas and other Bonner Leaders will be working in different communities in Cuba. This trip not only

provides the opportunity to volunteer, but also to explore and understand a different culture. Lucas said that she hopes to gain insight into how our culture differs from Cuba’s.

Lucas joined the Bonner Leaders last spring after researching ways to get involved and volunteer on campus.

Lucas realized the program provided a perfect way to pair her passion for service with

the enhancement of her leadership skills.

Lucas applied for the program in the spring of 2014 and was accepted as a Bonner Leader this fall. Since joining, she has worked on multiple service projects like Dash for Trash and the Low Country Autism Consortium. Lucas has also attended leadership retreats and conferences, all while actively working towards to the betterment of the Charleston community.

The Bonner Leader Program is a “four-year civic leadership and development program highlighted by regular training and reflection activities. Each Bonner Leader is partnered with a Charleston-area non-profit where s/he serves over 250 hours per year. Bonner Leaders meet weekly to discuss important, relevant social justice issues with a focus how they can personally make an impact in their communities.”

for granted every day,” Bragunier said.

In giving advice to future mentors, Bragunier said, “Just be yourself. Treat your mentee how you would treat anyone else, and it will all work out well.”

Social mentors volunteer their time to interact with their mentees and invite them into their social life.

“My mentee and I have a schedule down,” said Bragunier. “On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we will get lunch and typically go see a movie that night. We’ve gone to a couple of basketball games which are always a great time. And for Halloween, we took a tour of the old haunted city jail.”

Outside of the social mentor program, Bragunier studies hard to complete his major in Psychology at the

College of Charleston. He also enjoys music. Bragunier

both plays bass and sings for his band, Corrine.

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