Congratulations to Gabriel, who recently graduated from College of Marin and was accepted into SF State University! Read Gabriel’s reflections on his journey below.
Star Academy
My diagnosis of Autism at a young age had never caused any problems for me while in elementary school, but when I began middle school I had some struggles. In middle school students picked on me and never really considered my feelings and cared more about themselves and not about my diagnosis. In order to get through this time I looked toward my teachers, friends and family for support. After middle school I moved on to Star Academy in 11th grade. At Star I finally felt like I was getting the support I needed academically and socially. Things were starting to become much easier such as assignments and my teachers were there when I needed help. Then the following year I was a senior and learned a lot of living skills ideas from Star and eventually I graduated from High School and moved on to college.
College of Marin
I started at College of Marin in August 2019 and this was a whole new experience for me because the campus was bigger and the classes were harder than High School. For the first few semesters at COM I was receiving help from tutors, professors, and friends, but I was still struggling to pass my classes. In my second year one of my longtime friends mentioned to me he was a client of ICS. He explained that with ICS’ help I could get extra support in school. After he shared this with me I went to my disability resources counselor for more information.
Student Accessibility Services
Since ICS works with school supports like the SAS office I was able to get connected to ICS services. ICS and the Student Accessibility Services helped me because they connected me with accommodation resources for my diagnosis. This made it much easier to navigate my assignments and there was a place where I could take my quizzes and tests in a quiet area and I was able to get the extra time whenever I had to accomplish a quiz or a test. After I received the support I was able to maintain A’s and B’s in order to graduate with my AA degree.
United Market Bagger/Checker
Once I felt secure and supported at school I was ready to find a job. I began looking for one on my own and tried several places like Starbucks and Peet’s Coffee but I never heard back. Later I saw a posting at an on campus job fair for United Market. I applied and after the store manager interviewed me I was hired right away. After a year of working with ICS support from a job coach I was promoted from a bagger to a checker.
Acceptance to SF State University
This Spring 2024 I was accepted to join San Francisco State University to finish my BA degree in journalism. When I go, my ICS supports will follow me. As I look back I see how time has flown by fast and my dream of graduating from college finally came to be a reality.