Sawyer Viola (second from left) is a 2020 PSU Career and Community Studies graduate
In October, “Moving Into Adulthood” premiered at the Seattle Film Festival. The short film featured two recent alumni of the Career and Community Studies (CCS) program at Portland State University. Wyatt Isaacs and Sawyer Viola are interviewed as well as Dr. Mary Morningstar, the CCS program director at PSU’s College of Education. The film takes the viewer on a journey into their lives, employment at Nike, and the ups and downs of adult life for two young men with autism and their families. The film won the award for Best Director – Short Film (Sarah Elizabeth Shively and Matt Park) at the Seattle Film Festival.
Just after Seattle, “Moving Into Adulthood” was also included in the Portland Film Festival, which hosts a virtual festival experience to view the film on its website pdxff.com.
Learn more about Portland State’s Career and Community Studies program at upcoming virtual information sessions: NOV. 15 AND DEC. 1, 2022, 5:30 TO 7 P.M.
“I think one of the unique aspects of this film is it portrays the real experiences of individuals with intellectual and developmental disability who challenge themselves and society to redefine inclusion and equity,” says Dr. Morningstar. “Sawyer and Wyatt were motivated when enrolled in CCS to push beyond the status quo and gain skills and experiences to achieve inclusive adult lives. Like so many young adults graduating from PSU, finding their place in the world comes with barriers and success. This film’s honest portrayal of their growth and setbacks establishes the essentiality of fully inclusive postsecondary education.”
The Career and Community Studies program at Portland State University offers an inclusive higher education experience for students with intellectual disabilities. CCS students take college courses, may live on campus in inclusive housing, participate in campus events and activities, do volunteer work, and by graduation from the four-year program, have secured long-term employment.
The model for the program, developed by Dr. Morningstar, Professor Emerita Ann Fullerton and Associate Professor Emerita Sue Bert, is one that Portland State hopes will gain the attention of the Oregon Legislature in the upcoming legislative session. The goal is to offer Oregon students with intellectual disabilities inclusion in public education beyond K-12, granted by federal law in 1975, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990.
Before this legislation, U.S. schools educated only one in five children with disabilities, often excluding students who were deaf, blind, emotionally disturbed, or had an intellectual disability. Five decades later, more is known, and today 7.2 million (15 percent of all public school students) receive special education services. The Career and Community Studies program at PSU helps these students take the next step to gain the skills necessary to reach their true potential as members of society.
Career & Community Studies is a pre-baccalaureate, non-degree certificate program with individualized support for academics, employment, and campus life. The PSU program is currently the only inclusive, post-secondary education program for people with intellectual/developmental disability in the state of Oregon. It was started in 2015 through a federal grant associated with Think College.
Interested in applying? Visit the CCS Admissions page to learn more or attend one of the upcoming virtual information sessions:
Tues., Nov. 15, 2022, 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Thurs., Dec. 1, 2022, 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Link to attend: https://pdx.zoom.us/j/83915254019#success
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