News and Knowledge

Bess Bloomer and Keygan Miller are wrapping up their OAR internships in early May. Miller is in the first year of a master’s program in education policy at George Washington University. Bloomer, who spent her freshman year at Denison University and will attend the University of Maryland, College Park in the fall, is majoring in psychology and is interested in sociology, anthropology, and education as well.

Bloomer, who arrived on February 6, has been in charge of social media, blog posts, emails, graphics, and news articles. She feels lucky to have been able to write articles for the newsletter and pieces about National Autism Awareness Month. Her favorite experiences have been establishing and developing connections to those with autism and learning from staff members about their experiences at OAR and in the wider autism community. “I have learned so much about this field in the past few months, and what I have learned only makes me feel more passionate about one day pursuing a career with an organization like OAR.”

“Because of personal experiences, I am driven to want to help be a part of a movement of neurodiversity that will help make our world a kind, understanding, and empathetic place,” Bloomer says.

Miller, who came to OAR after five years as a special education teacher, wanted an experience in which “my expertise from the classroom could be utilized, but I could gain experience in a different aspect of community work. I also realized that many of the resources OAR has would have been very helpful while I was still in the classroom. I wanted to help get these resources into the hands of my former colleagues.” Most of Miller’s work has been centered on outreach for the “Kit for Kids” and “Finding Your Way: A College Guide for Students on the Spectrum,” trying to get OAR’s resources to people who can use them.

As a lifelong learner, Miller appreciates the new skills learned at OAR, from creating newsletters and email blasts to getting mailings ready. Miller says that one of the biggest lessons learned is that “the strategies you are certain will work, flop, and the ones you are certain will flop are the biggest successes.”