An enriching experience
During her paid internship with The Public Guardian and Trustee, Sharalin McLeod enjoyed the experience of living near the coast.
My name is Sharalin McLeod and I go to university at UBC Okanagan in Kelowna and I’ve been a student there for two years. I’m studying creative writing and English and my dream is to one day publish a novel. This fall, I am planning to take culture studies. At the university, I am also a member of the Creative Writing Course Union and have a paid job as the Campus Life Marketing Coordinator. In my free time, I like to go for walks, write and listen to music.
This summer, I had the opportunity to do a paid summer internship at The Public Guardian and Trustee (PGT), in Vancouver. My main task at work was to help PGT “stay ahead of their tasks.” My experience at PGT was a great one, giving me good office skills such as hole-punching file folders and putting fasteners on them. My favorite part of the job was making and labeling files. Another thing I did was photocopy documents and update PGT’s website for the public to view and access. This not only gave me the chance to learn some new computer skills, but also to use the skills I already have and show I’ve worked with computers before, as I use a laptop at home and at university.
All of these tasks helped me to see what it would be like to work in an office. I also think that learning to navigate different areas of a government agency will be beneficial experience to have for future jobs. Working at PGT allowed me the gratification of getting something done by the end of the day as well as feeling calmed by the rhythm of the work. I feel great that I could help PGT get things done and this is what helps me feel good about the time I spent working there. I learned what it’s like to work with publications too – something to offer me a taste of the publishing industry, where I hope to one day work.
During my time in Vancouver I also got to do a lot of fun things, outside of work. I got to visit Granville Publishing, which was very interesting and helped me to see the variety of books that get published. I went out for sushi, which was really neat and tasty. I visited Queen Elizabeth Park and Stanley Park, where I got to walk on the seawall and in the water and really enjoyed it. The ocean pulled me in and made me feel calm. I had the chance to visit UBC Vancouver, which was massive and I thought that the campus was really nice. I learned to navigate the SUB, The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre and the bookstore.
Throughout my visit I really liked how Vancouverites were really helpful and open, it made me feel at home. Overall I really liked the experience of working for PGT and being in Vancouver and hope to visit again one day soon.
Sharalin is supported by STEPS Forward through the BC Initiative for Inclusive Post-secondary Education. With appropriate community inclusion support, young adults with developmental disabilities are having a coherent undergraduate student experience leading to lifelong learning, friendships, and employment.
Students are supported to study courses of their own choice for 4 to 5 years, create a network of relationships based on personal interests and campus involvement, find paid student jobs and develop a career path into adulthood. Students are ‘participatory auditing’ students and complete, with modifications to their level of ability, the same curriculum, assignments and exams as the other students. There is no minimum level of education or cognitive, physical, or academic ability required in order to be eligible.
STEPS Forward has a policy of zero exclusion and supports students with significant intellectual disabilities who require direct support for physical and/or safety reasons. For more information on Inclusive Post Secondary Education in BC, contact Jessica Humphrey at jessica@steps-forward.org or visit www.steps-forward.org.
