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Hi, I’m Jake Miller
Jake Miller and Katie Ducett
If you have been lucky enough to spend some time in Pittsford, New York, or at Nazareth College, there is a good chance you have heard these four words, “Hi, I’m Jake Miller.” As a mentor in a program called LifePrep@Naz, I heard those words for the first time in January 2015. LifePrep had only been around for almost four years at that point, and I had been working with the program for about a year and a half. Getting to know Jake Miller from that point on has been one of the best parts of my life.
Jake took this picture of us at the Nazareth College Reunion and Homecoming weekend in 2019. This event is a tradition that Jake enjoys attending every year, along with many other friends of ours.
Jake knows everyone. He is a celebrity at Nazareth College, as well as at many of the other places he frequents (Wegmans, Red Wings baseball games, and Sunshine Camp, just to name a few). You often will see Jake with a group of friends exploring a museum, eating at a restaurant, or watching a sports event. Jake and some of our mutual friends even have an annual tradition of going to Seabreeze Amusement Park every summer (even though weather and Covid-19 have put a wrench in that the last few years).
One thing that Jake loves to do often is take pictures. If you spend any time with him, there will most likely be pictures taken at least a few times throughout the adventure. Sometimes they are selfies with Jake, but often he likes taking pictures of his friends together, as well as the environment they are in.
Figure 19.1. Katie and Jake
Throughout this chapter, Jake is hoping to share with the world some of the pictures he has taken during his years as a student and employee at Nazareth College. Along with the pictures are some pieces of writing Jake wanted to accompany his pictures. Although the writing in the following sections was physically typed into the document by Katie, it was thought up by Jake through FaceTime and text conversations. In-person connection did not happen due to Covid-19 restrictions. Jake has had full veto power over what was written, to be sure it represents his true experience.
Autism
I have autism. For me, autism means I walk around and talk to a lot of people. I ask people a lot of questions. When I am excited about something, I flap my hands and sometimes I jump up and down. With my autism, I have learned to calm down when I need to and take deep breaths. Sometimes my Apple Watch Breathe app helps me take deep breaths. Taking deep breaths is a great strategy that has helped me. Autism has helped me with college and it has helped me with my jobs. Autism did not make college or my jobs any more difficult.
LifePrep@Naz
LifePrep was an option for me when I was graduating from high school. I wanted to go to college, so I applied! To get into LifePrep, I had to fill out an application and do an interview. I was accepted! When I got into the LifePrep@Naz program, I took a tour of the campus. I started as a student in LifePrep in 2015. I took this picture of the Golisano Academic Center. This is where the main LifePrep classroom is. There are a lot of other things that happen in this building too, like yoga, a lot of Nazareth classes, and church services.
When I first started at Nazareth, I used a map to learn my way around. People did not need to help me find my way. If I needed help, I would have asked though. It is a good idea to ask for help when you need it.
Figure 19.2. Golisano Academic Center at Nazareth College
LifePrep taught me how to be independent, how to get a job, life skills (cooking, money, laundry, etc.), and job skills. The diagram below shows those different things that I needed to learn to be more independent. These different things have helped me become more independent. I still practice these different skills. These skills are important for everyone, not just people with autism.
Cooking every week was fun! We learned how to cook things like grilled cheese sandwiches, French toast, blueberry muffins, banana smoothies, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, and fudge! Yum! Our teacher would bring the recipe and the ingredients to a dorm kitchen, and we would all work together to make the recipes.
Figure 19.3. Mind map for “How to Be Independent”
The hardest life skill for me to learn was the difference between credit cards and debit cards. My teachers and mentors helped me with this skill. I do not use a credit card or a debit card now, but I know I could if I wanted to.
I also took Nazareth classes with other Naz students who were not in LifePrep. Some classes I remember I took were yoga, ballroom dancing, percussion for music therapy, improv, and 3D design. My favorite class was improv. I liked doing improv class because I like to act, and I got to act in that class! I like acting because I get to do impersonations. I get to say lines from movies and books that I like. I got to help pick which classes I wanted to take while I was in LifePrep!
All over campus, I had internships every semester. I had internships in the Cafe Sorelle, the box office, the dining hall, and the mailroom. The best internships for me were in the box office and in Cafe Sorelle. In the box office, I had the responsibility of putting tickets into envelopes for customers and putting the envelopes into mailboxes. In Cafe Sorelle, I made pizzas and helped clean tables. I got to help pick which internships I had, and I do not remember having any tough moments. There was one thing I did not like at my internship. I did not like using the computers when I worked at the box office.
There were mentors at LifePrep who took me to my different Naz classes and my internships. They also helped me with my homework. They were great!
The mentors helped me with school things, and they are my friends. We would go to events on campus together, like field hockey games, basketball games, theater shows, and other things like that! They also started a Best Buddies club at Nazareth, and a lot of LifePrep students, mentors, and other Nazareth students are a part of the club. They even started a choir called the EveryBuddies that I am a part of. We perform every few months!
I like being in the EveryBuddies because I get to sing songs. I like that it is inclusive because I really enjoy making new friends. We have even been having virtual practices because of Covid-19. I am happy I get to continue being in the choir even though I have graduated.
I still stay in contact with a lot of those mentors, even though I have graduated from Nazareth and most of them have graduated too. Some older mentors even came back to see me graduate from Nazareth. It was the second year that LifePrep students walked across the stage at the Naz Commencement at the Blue Cross Arena. It is important that LifePrep students get to walk across the stage, because we finished our four years of college and our programs. We get to walk across the stage like everyone else. A lot of people stood up and cheered when I graduated! I was so very excited!
After College . . .
One of my favorite memories at Naz actually happened after I graduated. I was working my job when all the new freshmen were arriving at Nazareth College for move-in. I met those new friends for the first time! To the new students, I said, “Hi, I’m Jake Miller. I went to Naz for four years.” I like to meet new people a lot! People I meet are usually friendly and have not been mean.
I don’t usually get nervous when I meet new people. I just like to introduce myself and ask the other person what they like to do. Then I like to see what we have in common! I usually try hard to remember the things I have in common with other people.
Things I ask people about to find out what we have in common:
- when their birthdays are
- what they like to do
- what sports they like to watch
- what their favorite movies are
- what their favorite colors are
- what their favorite foods are
I remember a lot of the things people say for a long time because I am pretty smart! If I see them again, I will probably ask them about the thing they told me before.
I have had two different jobs since I graduated from Nazareth. I still work at both of them. One of them is in the dining hall at Nazareth. It was easier to get this job because I worked there during one of my internships. I was good at wiping tables and helping clean around Sorelle’s. Those skills helped me get my job in the dining hall.
My other job is at Wegmans. At Wegmans, I get to fold pizza boxes for the pizza station, and I get to pass out Godiva chocolates to the customers at the chocolate station. It is a good job! My supervisor took this picture of me with a pumpkin. I am wearing a mask because this was taken during Covid-19, and we have to wear masks to keep each other safe!
Figure 19.4. Jake outside Wegmans in Pittsford
I researched jobs on Indeed to get my job at Wegmans, wrote a cover letter, completed a résumé, filled out an application, and did an interview. I do not plan to leave these jobs because I really like them. If I did have to get another job for some reason, I would ask my mom or someone I trust to help me with the cover letter and résumé. Those were the hardest parts of getting a job for me.
Figure 19.5. Otto A. Shults Community Center
My Favorite Places on Campus!
I really like taking pictures. I take them all the time. Pictures are like memories of things I have done. Sometimes I show my friends and my mom my pictures to show them what things I have done. They enjoy looking at the pictures, too!
In Shults, I like the swimming pool, racquetball courts, and the gymnasium. I also like the bookstore where people go and buy all different types of Nazareth apparel. My favorite Naz apparel are my T-shirt and my hat. My favorite thing to do at Shults is I like to eat lunch at the Cab. The Cab is really called the Cabaret, but everyone on campus calls it the Cab. It is a café where many students and faculty get lunch or dinner. I like to go there with my friends.
Figure 19.6. Golisano Training Center
At the new Golisano Training Center, I like the new indoor track, fitness center, indoor turf, and exercise rooms. I like to play sports there that Best Buddies does for inclusive intramurals called Featured Flyers. My favorite sports to play with Featured Flyers are basketball, tennis, and softball. My favorite thing to do there is get a snack from the concession stand.
Figure 19.7. Lourdes Dining Hall
At the Lourdes Dining Hall, I like to have lunch with my LifePrep friends for $5 Fridays. One of my favorite memories is the all-you-can-eat buffets. I would go through the line and get whatever I want. My favorite thing to do is working there as a culinary ambassador. I walk around and talk to people when I work at the dining hall.
I hope that people reading this chapter learn how I was a student at Nazareth and then was able to get different jobs I enjoy!
That’s it!