For Dos Pueblos High School senior Nicholas “Nico” Vera, the path to employment in landscaping started with a job on his school campus.
He was on the frontline of trimming trees, operating garden equipment and learning about soils and fertilizers thanks to job shadowing professionals through the Transition Partnership Program, also known as the Bridges Program.
“I felt happy because it was a job and an opportunity,” Vera, 17, said of the paid employment. “For me, it was a transformation. I like to be outside in the sun, walking around and work with my hands.”
The Transition Partnership Program is a collaboration with the Department of Rehabilitation that builds partnerships with local education agencies to transition high school students with disabilities to employment and/or post-secondary education.
At Dos Pueblos, Vera, whose father died last month, found a cohort of mentors who have provided encouragement and pushed him to be his best.
Vera worked alongside Dos Pueblos High landscapers Julio Flores and Edson Flores on Monday to Friday during the spring semester, and sometimes on Saturdays.
Julio said Vera’s motivation and enthusiasm for the work has made him proud.
“We are here to help,” said Julio, a 10-year Dos Pueblos High groundskeeper. “We communicated with his teachers and family at home.”
Vera said he is more confident with himself after taking part in the Transition Partnership Program, and meeting the Flores brothers.
“It has been a great support system, and I never thought I would receive this much support,” Vera said. “At the beginning of high school, I was on-and-off probation a couple of times and electronic monitoring, I was going in-and-out of juvenile hall for four or five times. Once I reached a point where there was no more chances, I was going to Los Prietos Boys Camp.
“Once I was in there (Los Prietos Boys Camp), it disciplined me and made me better as a person,” he said.
Vera was recognized at the school senior awards ceremony with the Outstanding Senior in Special Subjects award, district spokeswoman Lauren Bianchi Klemann said.
He was also named the Most Improved Student in Special Education at a special education award celebration, she said.
Dos Pueblos Assistant Principal Lauren Berlin has watched Vera mature and blossom from junior high school to his senior year at Dos Pueblos.
“I have worked with him in times when he was struggling through hard times, and I’ve also seen the turn around he has made,” Berlin said of Vera.“The kinds of goals that Nico has reached are so impressive — to graduate high school, make connections and discover that he wants to continue his education.”
Vera’s plans for his future solidified this year, and he will continue his education at Santa Barbara City College in the fall to study auto mechanics and possibly landscaping. He hopes to complete his undergraduate degree at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
“I’m excited,” Vera said of continuing his education, adding that he credits the Flores brothers, the Transition Partnership Program and his teachers.
In California, more than 100 Transition Partnership Programs are administered through contractual agreements with school districts and county offices of education, according to the Department of Rehabilitation.
The agency assigns vocational rehabilitation counselors in the agreements, and the school districts or county education offices provide the vocational programming and training, according to the DOR.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
