Meera Phillips beamed with pride as she set up an iPad to showcase her culminating project for friends and family, just days before crossing the stage to graduate from Texas A&M University San Antonio along with hundreds of other students.
Her eyes scanned the room, and she giggled as she clicked through slides showing her presenting in classes, tabling on campus and working in the university’s IT department.
“I would like to work in Georgia at the local university,” she said, using the iPad to communicate. “I will live independently with a roommate in an apartment.”
The remarkable scene was a world away from where Phillips’ life began and shows the transformational power of the program run by the university called “Tu Casa,” or Transition University for Career Advancement and Successful Adulthood. The acronym also translates to “your home” in a nod to the inclusive aims of the program for students with intellectual disabilities.
Phillips was born in India with an intellectual disability and severe speech impediment.
She never knew her birth parents and, according to the university, was facing an uncertain future when she was adopted by her parents in Atlanta, Georgia.
From there, she took on a new life and thrived.
In a video posted to YouTube seven years ago, she can be seen playing soccer and laughing with friends as she chats and jokes via the iPad. In another video shared by the university last year, she can be seen leaping out of a chair and jumping up and down when she learned she was accepted into the Tu Casa program as part of its third cohort. The program is funded by a $2.1 million grant from the U.S. Dept. of Education, one of the most significant grants the university has received.
The program was the first time she lived away from her parents.
“I am enjoying the experience, and it’s definitely going to help me in the future with my independence when I get my own place,” she said.
As students complete the program, they receive a University and Career Experience Certificate geared toward specific career pathways and the development of independent living skills.
This year, students will move on to work for local businesses, including H-E-B and Project Mend, Walgreens, and even the IT department at TAMU-SA.
Helping the transition
The Tu Casa program, one of only three of its kind in the state, is designed to give students a university experience while teaching them skills and knowledge to transition to living independent adult lives, according to university officials.
Students begin classes in the spring semester, including practicum courses where they learn specific skills and standard college courses in subjects such as public speaking and kinesiology.
That is followed by a week-long summer boot camp, during which students live on campus. Students also participate in outings, like one to the Botanical Gardens, where they learned to cook different meals like avocado toast and a fruit pizza.
Like for many other college students, the beginning of the program was awkward, with students struggling to find classes and connect with friends. But student Hannah Sharman said once she found “the easy way to classes,” she settled in and learned a lot.
She took a photography class and learned skills about budgeting and filing paperwork.
Practicing for her own final presentation a few days before it was presented, Sharman invited Phillips to click through her prepared slides.
“Tu Casa has helped me grow by allowing me to meet new people and staff,” she said. “They have made me feel welcomed and supported in my decisions that I make for my future, helping me choose wisely and pointing me in the right direction.”
Beyond classwork, students participate in volunteer work and professional internships.
That presented a full circle opportunity for Sharman when she volunteered for Project Mend, a local nonprofit that refurbishes medical equipment to help those with disabilities and life-altering illnesses.
“I know them because they gave me my first walker and I learned how to walk in the house by myself,” she said. “So Project Mend has been a big part of my life.”
Using a motorized wheelchair, Sharman navigated back to the audience when she was done presenting. She plans on continuing her work with Project Mend after graduation.
Social engagement
Students get to explore passions as well.
Serene Cosme-Garza, who has been interested in art and animation since middle school, used the elective option to deepen her skills with an art class during her time in the program. She creates animated renditions of the cartoon South Park and other short videos on a YouTube channel with nearly 3,000 subscribers.
“It is one of those things where even if I don’t get a lot of views, I am still going to work on it because it is something I am passionate about,” she said.
Jesus Beltran, who is going on to work at Walgreens, said he learned to be more proficient at public speaking, office skills and money management.
“I learned skills like how to label names and addresses and zip codes,” he said.
Students participate in various clubs across campus, including one they lead called the Amigxs organization, which focuses on social inclusion through events like game night, movies and lunch outings. Through tabling, they share information about the program, and ways other students on campus can become involved.
A past leader noticed how Jesse Camarillo, Jr., who started the program a bit shy, was interacting with fellow students and nominated him to become the next president. Now, after a year of helping with on-campus events, he is looking to pass the torch to someone in the next cohort.
Camarillo specifically took another cohort member, Daniel Lawler, under his wing throughout the year, stepping in as “a coach” of sorts when he was struggling.
Lawler said making friends and learning about the criminal justice system were the highlights of his time in the program.
As students make their way through the program, they become more independent and rely on themselves and one another instead of student volunteers and teachers, according to Veronica Kallead, who is the director of the program.
“As soon as they get to know each other and they gain those friendships, I just kind of sit back and watch,” she said. They’re adults, so we let them make that choice.”
Parents and audience members grew emotional watching the progress made from the beginning to the end of the program, something that is true for every cohort so far, according to Kallead.
“It has been a privilege and honor to see them grow, to come out of their shell to be their authentic true selves, and be unapologetically themselves,” she said. “And also just seeing them be welcomed by everybody.”
This story has been updated to correct the name of the program director.
