| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Four students, Matthew Carrizal, Miguel Gonzalez, |
|
|
Courtney Osborn, and Lexi Villarreal, graduated with certificates |
|
|
in interdisciplinary studies from Texas A&M University on May 11, |
|
|
2023, as members of the inaugural class of the Aggie ACHIEVE |
|
|
program; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Aggie ACHIEVE, which stands for Academic Courses in |
|
|
Higher Inclusive Education and Vocational Experiences, is a |
|
|
comprehensive transition program for young adults with |
|
|
intellectual and developmental disabilities who have exited high |
|
|
school; the program provides participants with an inclusive and |
|
|
immersive college education with the goal of successfully preparing |
|
|
them for employment in the community; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, With the program's launch in the fall of 2019, Texas |
|
|
A&M became the first university in the state to introduce a |
|
|
certificate-based higher education initiative of this kind for |
|
|
young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities; |
|
|
Aggie ACHIEVE is designed to enroll students for up to four years, |
|
|
and each student is matched with coursework, internship |
|
|
opportunities, and extracurricular activities that align with |
|
|
their academic interests and employment goals; students in the |
|
|
program take classes, live independently, complete internships on |
|
|
campus, and work part-time jobs both on campus and in the College |
|
|
Station community, in addition to participating in social, |
|
|
athletic, and recreational activities alongside their fellow |
|
|
Aggies; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Created by Dr. Carly Gilson at the TAMU School of |
|
|
Education and Human Development, the Aggie ACHIEVE program was |
|
|
established based on research showing that students with |
|
|
intellectual and developmental disabilities who attend |
|
|
postsecondary inclusive programs have a higher rate of employment |
|
|
and earn higher wages than those who do not have such opportunities; |
|
|
the students enrolled in Aggie ACHIEVE also benefit from the |
|
|
support and mentorship of their peers in ACHIEVEMates, an |
|
|
organization formed by Texas A&M undergraduate students to help |
|
|
ACHIEVE participants reach their goals; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The four members of the inaugural cohort of Aggie |
|
|
ACHIEVE demonstrated hard work, dedication, and perseverance on |
|
|
their way to completing the program, and they are indeed deserving |
|
|
of special recognition for this accomplishment as they embark on |
|
|
the next exciting chapter of their lives; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature |
|
|
hereby honor the inaugural graduating class of the Aggie ACHIEVE |
|
|
program and extend to each student sincere best wishes for the |
|
|
future; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared |
|
|
for the students as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
|
|
Senate. |