SCC's Uniquely Abled Academy helps those with autism gain experience

Jerome Wirtz, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
·2 min read

Jul. 26—With a lab full of equipment and a couple months of practice, people enrolled in the Unique Abled Academy develop the skills needed to land high-paying jobs that will help them the rest of the way.

UAA is a summer program at South Central College offered for individuals with autism aged 18 to 30 to learn how to use and operate computer numerical control machines, or CNC. The goal of the program is to help participants develop skills to find jobs in the manufacturing industry.

This is the second summer the program has been offered at SCC, with this session running June 12 until Aug. 17. The participants learn how to operate the machines in the lab and do various projects with them for the first eight weeks of the program. The last two weeks are used for learning soft skills and applying for jobs.

Jon Morgan, who is an instructor for the program, applauded the five individuals enrolled this summer on their attention to detail and spoke about UAA and the opportunity it gives.

"I knew kids with autism needed an opportunity," he said. "And working with the people here, I knew it'd be a great fit."

Evan Nadolsky, one of the participants, said Jon is a great help when he has questions about any of the machines, and that the program in general has been great. He said working with metals and some of the tools and machines was a challenge to start, but learning has been worth it.

"I think the best part is the feeling of accomplishment," Nadolsky said. "When you're here and you're making something, you're making it yourself. And it makes it feel like you're making something worthwhile."

Those that graduate from the program have the option of going straight into a job or returning to SCC for additional curriculum. They also have the option of getting a job and returning to SCC after a while and can even have their additional education paid for by their employers. If they decide to return to SCC, there are a variety of diplomas they can earn, including a welding diploma and one-year foundation diploma.

SCC's program is only one of 10 in the country, and the college is looking to expand it to the metro area. Representatives from Minnesota's Departments of Employment and Economic Development, which helps fund the program, along with others, were at SCC Wednesday to see it firsthand to possibly help with the idea.

Kristin Underwood, SCC director of customized workforce education, said replicating or expanding the program is a matter of money, faculty and students, and that programs like this should be more accessible.

"We need to have more programs like this all over the state," she said. "We need to do more work to make these programs more available."