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99������Ƶ honored six students on August 7 for completing the Successful Occupational Achievement Readiness (SOAR) program, which is in its second year at the college.

SOAR is a free vocational and literacy training program for adults with learning and developmental disabilities, which helps them to build skills, fine-tune goals, and earn micro credentials that align with their chosen life and career paths. The program is tailored to students’ individual needs and can take up to two years to complete. It focuses on developing students' academic, social, and workforce skills through projects and contextualized lessons and activities. Since SOAR began in August of 2023, it has benefited 25 participants ages 17 to 40, with an average class size of 10 students.

During the first year, students focus on boosting math, literacy, and critical thinking skills as they relate to various vocational themes. The second year is focused on workplace training and internships in an area the student is interested in. Classes continue in computer literacy, career skills, and goal setting. Students have the opportunity to complete internships in fields spanning healthcare, manufacturing, and childcare.

Dr. Barbara Fedock, Coordinator of Adult Basic Education, presently oversees the SOAR program. She said that watching this group of students leave the classroom is particularly bittersweet.

“We will dearly miss each and every one,” she said. “They now have a varied set of tools to help them be successful in life and the workplace, and we know they will continue to soar onward and upward and make a difference wherever they land.”

Students Find Meaningful Work Through SOAR

When Abby Long, 28, enrolled in the SOAR program two years ago, the gentle, creative Louisiana native had a clear goal of finding a paid teaching job where she could put 10 years of experience volunteering in her church’s nursery to use. Shy by nature, Long had struggled with literacy in school but was able to build her skills through SOAR’s reading and writing-based curriculum.

Long is now hoping to begin a paid internship at Asheville’s Irene Wortham Center to work as a teaching assistant with young children. She also has a business plan under her belt for a small business creating fashion accessories.

Long’s personal story is deeply rooted in faith and family. For years, she has helped her dad in his Swannanoa-based business, Bee Tree Hardwoods, which provides milling, custom sawing, and wood-drying.

“I help with cleaning the office, and I help my dad when he’s building doors,” she said. “They’re heavy, and I help hold them. He works on 10 or 12 at a time.”

In addition, Long has worked with young children at her church since she was 15. She’s particularly enjoyed working with kids who struggle with communication or emotional challenges, including a 2-year-old boy who is nonverbal and relies solely on sign language to express himself. Long took a sign language class in the past and was able to build on her skills in SOAR when she befriended a deaf classmate.

“I teach (the little boy) to use different signs,” she said. “He’s very sweet, and he doesn’t have other kids to play with … kids should know how to communicate. I want to help them learn to express themselves instead of acting out.”

While in SOAR, Long focused on building reading, writing, math, and financial literacy skills and took a childcare class, which she says taught her more about the emotional and behavioral needs of young children. She was also able to explore a longtime business idea of selling bows that her dad taught her how to make as a child.

“I didn’t know how to tie my shoes, so first he taught me that,” she said. “Then he taught me how to make berets and bows out of ribbon.”

Long’s favorite parts of SOAR were going on field trips around campus to learn about different curriculum programs, making new friends, and doing a fitness program called Bloom, which includes yoga, weight training, and dance classes. Lifting dumbbells, she said, helped her grow stronger so she could better help her dad in his carpentry business.

A big class highlight was giving a PowerPoint presentation to a group of 15 students from Asheville High who had come to learn about SOAR. Though initially very nervous, Long said she realized she enjoyed it a lot once she got going. Her dad, a longtime director of nonprofits, coached her ahead of time. And during her talk, she pictured her dog Sherman, a “goofy and sweet” corgi/chihuahua mix.

“That helped me a lot,” she said. “I thought this was going to be scary, but remember to see past it. My dog comforts me when I’m sad, angry, or upset.”

Fedock said Long is a naturally skilled speaker who was very articulate in front of the group. “She did an excellent job.”

Long said she hopes people might consider SOAR as a way to help determine their life’s direction and make new friends along the way. She advises anyone considering the program to “Be yourself. Be a good fruit to others, and others will be a good fruit to you; treat others the way you want to be treated. You need to grow like a tree in life and always put God first.”

When Richard Rice first came to the SOAR program, he felt he’d hit a slump in his work-life. After 10 years working as a dishwasher at an Ingles deli, the older student craved a more stimulating job but lacked the work experience and skills to make a change. Now having completed the program, Rice has gained a broad array of new skills that span math, literacy, and computers, as well as interpersonal and communication skills.

After exploring various career paths in the SOAR program, including becoming a science instructor and working as an auto mechanic, Rice chose in the end to stay in his current job, which he hopes might lead to a higher-up Ingles position. Meanwhile, a SOAR internship at Asheville’s Sun Soo Martial Arts, opened a new door for him. During his time there, Rice fell in love with the martial arts community and landed a volunteer position. In this role, he said he feels he’s grown more confident and self-assured.

“He gets to interact with people. He loves to talk,” Fedock said. “People inspire him and recognize him for his positive attitude. That’s worth more than anything else.

SOAR is a program designed for students with learning disabilities in reading, math, writing, or language, processing skills, adaptive behaviors, and/or who experience differences that are usually present at birth that impact an individual’s physical, intellectual, and/or emotional development. For more information, visit Successful Occupational Achievement Readiness (SOAR).