News and Knowledge

Keygan Miller started their internship in January 2018 and wrapped it up at the end of April, with a break during the summer. “Originally I was looking for work that would supplement my experience as a special education teacher. OAR seemed like a good transition into programs and research. I stayed for two additional semesters to work on the Sex Ed. Guide for Self-Advocates.” Combining two of their areas of expertise, comprehensive sexuality education and special education, was an amazing opportunity, Miller notes.

Miller will take that experience and the master’s in special education policy they will receive in May from George Washington University into a career in policy.

Patrick Haines has been an intern with Hire Autism since September. His last day will be May 10. He will graduate with a master’s degree in public administration from American University in May.

Since Hire Autism is still in its development phase, Haines took on many projects, ranging from managing the Hire Autism Facebook page to reaching out to business and community partners. “I had an opportunity to go to a meeting with a Hire Autism employer and learn how to communicate with program partners. It was an awesome experience that instilled in me the importance of building strong professional relationships needed for professional and business development,” he says.

As someone on the spectrum, he chose OAR because he could help people like him. “Learning the skills of social media communications and outreach were important to me, but I am most pleased at being able to utilize these newfound skills in making a positive impact on the local autism community.” He also appreciates that OAR staff treated him “like a member of their team and that I was given a chance to have my ideas heard.”

For Laila Handoo, who worked as intern from February through mid-April, hearing the perspective of the bloggers who wrote for OAR’s blog was enlightening. She came to OAR motivated to help educate others about autism. The time she spent working on social media and outreach for the Autism in the Schoolhouse Initiative gave her a chance to do that. She will be starting a master’s degree in public health – epidemiology at George Washington University this summer.