Think College Vermont

This semester at Think College Vermont some students were taking their courses remotely from the UVM campus. All the students and their mentors still had to be six feet apart from each other. It was still mandatory to wear face masks. The students and mentors were still required to take a COVID-19 test on the UVM campus. 

Think College Vermont provided two remote classes for our students this spring semester. Here are the two fun remote classes that were offered to students this semester, The Basics of Cooking and Baking. The second class was on Friendship and Dating.

During this COVID-19 time. Think College Vermont was not able to hold in-person graduation this year. However, the program recently held a virtual celebration for Thomas Caswell and Bennett Townley on graduating from the program. Madeline Honigman completed the program in 2017, and she stayed to pursue her education with Think College Vermont. During the celebration, we had Katharine Shepherd the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from (CESS) to wish the students good luck. 

Thanks for your patience. We are hoping to be back on campus in person this fall semester. Have a great summer!!

This semester, I took an art class. I really liked the project where we made sports logos. Mine was on hockey because it is a sport I enjoy watching. I also worked in the Patrick gym this semester where I cleaned the bikes and treadmills. Next year, I am looking forward to my hip hop class.

According to Bennett, these are his thoughts about self-advocacy and advocating for himself at Think College.

What does self-advocacy mean to you?
Self-Advocacy means to respectfully ask someone to change something for you to make you more successful.

What self-advocacy skills do you want to learn at Think College? 
Being realistic on what kind of help I can get on the internet.  I don’t need to ask if the mentor can come to my house for example. 

What self-advocacy skills did you learn in the self-advocacy classes. How can you use them at Think College Vermont?
I can use the skills by talking to a professor about problems I am having in the class or on the Blackboard page.  

This semester, which is also my last, I have an internship once again with the Peace and Justice Center. This was also where I had my internship in Spring 2020 but covid shutdowns postponed half of the internship to this year. Unlike last year, I am doing it all remote on campus with mentors. Things I have done this time around include making phone calls to members for the annual phonathon, doing zoom meeting tech including unpacking whiteness, a social media campaign, and reading a novel which involves reflecting what I have learned from the reading for the enews. The Social Media Campaign involves the School-to-prison pipeline and how it disproportionately affects the BIPOC community and people with disabilities. If you go onto Peace & Justice Center’s Facebook Page, there are a few infographics already posted from a software named Canva. It definitely isn’t the same as being at the PJ&C center itself but at least it’s still a great way to be a part of being with them during this time of a global pandemic. 

My Favorite class was American Political System I have had amazing support from my mentors to help me with the work. What I like about this class is knowing about the History behind it all, the way that my mentors help me by motivating me and asking me questions. I have made lots of friends and have relationships with my Think College Friends. A game that I love to play during my semester here at UVM is HeadsUp. The reason why I like to play HeadsUp is because it gives me extra time to be with my friends as we stay 6 feet apart during this global pandemic.

 According to Bryan Dague, the Program Director of Think College Vermont, “The State of Vermont’s Post-Secondary Education Initiative received an Innovative Policy Award from the Zero Project. Zero Project is an international organization whose mission is supporting the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the United Nations and to work for a world without barriers. Vermont’s Post-Secondary Education Initiative is a collaboration of the state Developmental Disabilities Services Division, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Agency on Education and transition and post-secondary education programs including Think College at the University of Vermont, Project Search, Howard Center’s Succeed program, College Steps at Northern Vermont and Castleton Universities, and Global Campuses Foundation.” https://streaming.zeroproject.org/video/YC36H4WINhE

What interested me in ASL 3: I just wanted to have more experience in ASL. We are learning about mouth movement and we are learning about more grammar and more facial expressions. I like the professor. I like that I can do it in my room and I have good wifi in my room. 

How the mentors are helping me in my remote class: Kristin helps me with understanding fingerspelling in class.

The mentors are helping me study by practicing and practicing and practicing. 

When I am doing recreational activities on Zoom, I like to look up songs translated into ASL, I watch tv, I play Bingo, and I play Pictionary.

Self advocacy means taking care of yourself. Standing up for your wants and needs. And asking for help when you need it.

Welcome to the Spring Semester of 2021! We hope everyone had a great break. Let’s have a great semester!

The virtual Halloween party had a fun ghost story contest and we had three great entries. Congratulations to Bennett who won the ghost story contest with a fantastic scary story. To read his ghost story click on this link.

The Mourning Shadow a.k.a. The Ghost of Bennett Townley 

I am the Ghost of Bennett Townley, also known as the Mourning Shadow by some. I died on October 31, 1837 from a carriage accident on the UVM campus outside of the Billings Library. I am known as the Mourning Shadow because I cry quietly on stormy, Halloween, and full-mooned nights and then lash out suddenly in rage. It happens so fast, all you see is my shadow! I have been known to stack chairs, throw things, slam doors, and make loud noises. On occasion I will drag people along the floor through the hallways late at night and laugh as they scream. 

Over a 175 years ago, the university decided to close the library after 9pm because people were getting so scared to be there at night, many disappeared, and experienced my terrifying antics. The UVM Police also recommended locking the doors of neighboring buildings and closing them at 9 as well, but that didn’t stop me as I can float through walls! In the 80s, they put cameras in and actually WITNESSED people disappearing out of thin air in the Billings Library and it’s neighboring buildings on a few occasions. About 40-50 years ago UVM had to renovate and remove Asbestos since I would destroy pipes releasing asbestos fibers into the air. This earned my second nickname, the Asbestos Ghost. 

The University of Vermont is planning to get rid of me on October 31, 2020 after spending 183 years haunting the old part of campus. The plan is to have a priest bless each building and room, throw holy water, and bring in EMF detectors and infrared cameras to find me. They believe this will get rid of me but I won’t leave without a fight! I am going to scream, stack chairs, throw things, drop the temperature in each building to 66.6 degrees or triple 6s, have the wind pick-up to 80 mph, and possess many people. It will be bedlam, it will be pretty wicked, literally. Please don’t exorcise me or BEWARE!

Peer-mentors help me by reviewing the assingments with me. They also help me by going over my work with me. They also work as my notetakers in class. I like having peer-mentors because they keep me on top of my work. They do a good job helping me with my school work. From a first year student Sara.