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Transition Programs Focus on Pre- and Post-College Experience

Recognizing the increasing need to help students through crucial transition periods in their lives, DSS has launched two programs that focus on issues students face related to both entering and leaving college.

This summer, DSS will offer a fee-for-service component to the GW Summer Scholars Program for rising high school seniors. Drawing on the expertise of our staff as well as professional educators and licensed practitioners from the DC metropolitan area, our curriculum will give students the edge they need to compete on a level playing field with their peers. Students will benefit from individualized training in learning strategies, written expression, study skills, time management, and self-advocacy, as well as building a community with their peers. 

While the transition into college is crucial for many students, leaving GW for the working world can also present quite a challenge. DSS Each year DSS and the Career Center collaborate to bring students registered with DSS a great opportunity for summer and potentially permanent employment. This year the U.S. Department of Labor selects GW as a site for the Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP), which aims to provide summer work experience, and in some cases full-time employment, for college students with disabilities. It is essentially a resource to connect public and private sector employers nationwide with highly motivated postsecondary students and recent graduates with disabilities who are eager to prove their abilities in the workforce. From late January through the end of February, recruitment visits, which include 30-minute personal interviews with individual students, are conducted. By March, a data base composed of student information gathered during recruitment visits is made available to employers in the public and private sectors. Once the data base is released, interested employers make direct contact with students about temporary and permanent job offers.

Chris Pope, a DSS Graduate Intern and Master's Degree candidate in the Rehabilition Counselling Program who coordinated GW's involvement in the WRP this year, reports that "the program was a big success. We had fifteen students participate who are excited about finding an internship or job through this innovative program. I've asked participants to keep me informed of their progress." And we will keep you informed as well!