The Autism Preparation and Achievement in the Transition to Hire (PATH) program at Rowan University is designed to help current neurodivergent students and alumni find employment post-graduation. Created by a partnership between the Office of Career Advancement and Accessibility Services, PATH, which is a no-added cost to attendance for qualified students, was started to combat the high levels of unemployment for college graduates who are on the autism spectrum. 

“There was a realization that there is a significant unemployment and underemployment rate, specifically for autistic adults with college degrees post-graduation,” said Chiara Latimer, PATH coordinator and co-director for the Center for Neurodiversity. “Because it’s very feasible for students of all identities to not only get into college but to successfully complete it.”

PATH is made up of three components, including co-active coaching, which provides individualized job and academic success coaching and career exploration opportunities, PATH Connect/Career Workshops, a social engagement aspect that looks to build an inclusive campus community and foster student connections, and resource networks, allowing students, alumni, and their families to connect with employers and gain information to help them get a job after graduation.

Additionally, students in PATH attend weekly coaching sessions with designated coaches, like PATH Coaching Specialist Dino Arhontoulis, who gives support in a wide range of areas, from academic stressors to general life advice. 

“I help students with time management skills, make sure that they’re completing their assignments, understand the other services that Rowan offers to students, and then also to make them feel welcome and to just be a friendly face to help them out,” Arhontoulis.

The program itself was founded in March 2019 and was made possible by monetary donations and the work of the Neurodiversity Taskforce, a group of neurodiverse students and staff members from across all three of Rowan’s campuses that researched and designed the Center for Neurodiversity.

“Donors presented this opportunity to fund a position that would help to support the transition, specifically of autistic adults, into meaningful employment to combat those rates,” said Latimer.

Alumni Cat Rogers was also a member of the task force. After graduating from Rowan in 2019 with a bachelor’s in biology, he then returned four years later for graduate school, graduating as a part of the Class of 2023 with a master’s in STEM Education. Now 30, Rogers is a ninth-grade biology teacher at Morris County School of Technology in Denville, New Jersey.

He also was co-founder of the Neurodiversity Club, which works to serve the neurodivergent population at Rowan. Rogers also spoke at the Autism Spectrum Symposium where PATH was announced, and helped conduct research and give inputs for the program during his time on the task force during graduate school.

“My time at Rowan predated the PATH program, It was still kind of in its conception,” said Rogers. “I helped pave the way for students who came after me to participate in the program and I gave a lot of feedback and was involved in a lot of research and studies that helped form what PATH is now and what they offer. And also having a say in where neurodiverse students might need the most support.”

For Rogers, who is autistic and has ADHD, PATH is an incredible way to not just help neurodivergent students succeed in college, but overcome disadvantages faced when entering the professional world.

“PATH is an amazing opportunity to not just socialize and get the full college experience, but also prepares students, neurodiverse students for career readiness skills,” said Rogers. “It helps them build career readiness skills, become socially engaged, and build networks. Networking is a social skill that is one that we [neurodivergent people] might struggle with, and it provides those opportunities to that’s the basic structure of path and I think it’s absolutely amazing.”

Now serving nearly 100 students and alumni, PATH has grown immensely since it started almost five years ago. For Latimer, programs like these make higher education more accessible and inclusive to neurodivergent people, something that is less prevalent, unlike K-12 education.

“In high school, there are actual trained special education teachers who have gone through traditional training, but higher education professionals are usually hired because of their expertise,” said Latimer. “So, they don’t always have the same type of basic education training that we would see in K-12 education overall and so, I think that it’s important that higher education provides programming for all different types of identities.”

Arhontoulis also highlights that while other universities in the area in places in Pennsylvania have a fee for similar programs, PATH is completely free, providing no added economic stress to those who qualify for the program.

“A lot of the other programs that are in the Delaware Valley, they charge for this type of program, but we offer it to our students for free,” said Arhontoulis.

As PATH continues to grow over the years to come and pave the way for neurodivergent students to succeed in their academic and professional efforts, Rogers is proud that his work, along with the efforts of multiple Rowan offices and personnel, contributed to making this program a reality, opening the doors for students like him to thrive.

“I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to contribute to something larger than myself to benefit students like me, and I hope that it continues in this positive direction,” said Rogers. “And I hope that neurodivergent students continue to have opportunities that I had, and so many more.”

For students or alumni who have questions about their eligibility or want to register for the program, contact PATH by emailing them at pathprogram@rowan.edu.

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