Project: Customized Employment for Adults with Disabilities
Binder #: 163
Major: Elementary Education
Passion: Economic Development
Organization: Marcfirst, State Farm
Executive Summary: My time at State Farm was truly rewarding because I was able to work in areas that were of great interest to me, philanthropy and education. One of my projects dealt with collecting and analyzing education research and data that will help State Farm with an upcoming initiative. This was an interesting task because it tied with many of the topics we have discussed in my education courses at IWU, so I was glad that I was able to identify critical issues and address possible solutions to my team. Another one of my projects was planning lessons for and teaching a high school class the topic of financial literacy. This project gave me the opportunity to connect directly with my major and learn a skill that I will be developing over the course of the following school year. At Marcfirst, I worked in the customized employment program. I worked with an individual client to develop her business and organize tools that will guide her moving it forward. To help her track her accounting, I created a workbook for accounting software that will not only benefit her, but any other individual with a desire to be an entrepreneur. My time at Marcfirst gave me the opportunity to work directly with people from different backgrounds, and the outcome has been incredibly rewarding.