Elissa Beard graduated from the MICC College Program in 2016 and recently celebrated another graduation, receiving her associate degree in Early Childhood Development at Liberty University. She was able to hop onto Zoom for a quick call reflecting on how MICC helped put her on the path she’s on today and what she’s looking forward to in the future.  

Elissa’s passion and success in her Early Childhood Development career find their roots in her time at MICC when she began working at a preschool. “I started volunteering my time when I was a part of MICC,” she explains, “and then they hired me two years later and I had fell in love with the job.” Knowing that a degree is required to work with young children, Elissa knew that her years at MICC were to prepare her for pursuing her associate degree one day. MICC prepared her to succeed at Liberty by strengthening her time management and organizational skills which Elissa claims was most important when balancing her classes and work schedule. 

The experience was immediately different as she wasn’t as active on campus, “I was working at the preschool Wooddale Academy at the time while doing my school online. So, I took one class at a time.” Like many participants in the College program, Elissa lived in the on-campus apartments for all three  years at MICC. She mentioned that her apartment mentor, Julia Smith, was a significant support for her throughout her journey, saying, “She was my mentor for all three years. She encouraged me spiritually; she had this great spirit in her that I admire in her.” ​

Though difficult at first, Elissa used her faith and positivity as motivation, stating “It was my ultimate goal to get this degree. I felt like the Lord wanted me to use the gifts that I had to be a blessing towards other people.” For other students at MICC considering pursuing additional education, Elissa’s biggest piece of advice is to keep an optimistic outlook. “Follow your heart and never give up in life because you don’t know if you’re capable of doing this.” she urges. “If you say you can do it, you can do it but if you say ‘Oh I can’t do it’ well then you're not going to reach what you want to do in life.” Taking her advice, from just one conversation, it is evident when talking to the recent graduate that her positive attitude has gotten her exactly where she wants to be.  
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Passionate about working with children and excited about the opportunities her journey with MICC and Liberty University have prepared her for, Elissa is ready for the next steps in life. Currently, she works at Wooddale Academy in Eden Prairie with students aged 3-4 and enjoys helping with art projects the most. When considering what the future has in store for her, Elissa shares that she thinks, “What's next for me is to be an assistant teacher along with doing mission work too. I think God has really nudged my spirit to go to do mission work too.” She would like to thank her friends Bang Schneider, Erin Manoles, Courtney, Ashley, Jeremy, Elizabeth, and all her coworkers at Wooddale Academy for their support now and moving forward. Everyone at MICC is very proud of Elissa’s accomplishments and wishes her the best of luck moving forward. Congratulations Elissa!  ​

For media inquiries please contact Katherine Sjeklocha at ksjeklocha@miccommunity.org. 
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Minnesota Independence College & Community is a 501(c)3 nonprofit vocational and life skills training program for young adults with learning differences and autism spectrum disorders. Since our founding in 1996, MICC has remained dedicated to helping our students make successful transitions towards independent living and self sufficiency. MICC is proud to be recognized as one of the Top Workplaces in Minnesota by the Star Tribune.

The Committee organizes monthly trainings for all MICC staff August through April based on suggestions from program staff to continue developing their skills and understanding of how to best support students based on best practices and experts from the community. Some training topics this year included:

• ASD Evidenced-Based Practices and COVID-19,
• Sensory Differences and ASD,
• ASD and Cultural Sensitivity, and
• Developmental Perspective on Sexuality.

Additionally, the Autism Committee was responsible for our incredible conversation with Dr. Temple Grandin (click here to read more about our takeaways from our meeting).

Over the past two years, an average of 80% of respondents to our year end evaluation indicated that they had used some form of evidenced-based practice in their work as a result of our trainings. The Autism Committee will continue to look to MICC staff and participants to identify training needs that will have a meaningful impact on our community.

The Autism Committee members are an invaluable resource to ensure MICC is able to provide participants in all programs positive and appropriate learning opportunities and experiences that will support in their independence.

Questions about training, interested in resources or have suggestions on training topics? ​Email autismcommittee@miccommunity.org.

Meet Dustin, a senior in the College Program at MICC! We are excited to announce that Dustin has been named the first recipient of the new Participant of the Month program!

He is active in his community by volunteering in his free time with the Autism Mentorship Program (AMP), the MICC Mentoring Program and is currently the student representative for MICC's Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS). Peers and staff recognized Dustin for being responsible by completing tasks independently and respecting others by listening before speaking.
We are so happy to recognize Dustin in our rejuvenated Participant of the Month program. Congratulations, Dustin!

Read more about Dustin in his own words below: 

​"I am Dustin Schmidt and I am currently a senior. My favorite thing about being at MICC is that you start as a freshman learning how to take care of yourself and cook, then in a junior year you get a feel for the certificate program and work in areas that are related to it, then in senior year, you get to find yourself a job. Electives I'm currently involved in are Walk, Jog and Run, Seasonal Sports, Rock band, Lego Masters, along with being involved in the MICC Mentorship Program as a mentee, being a mentor in AMP or Autism Mentorship Program, and am the Student Representative in PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention System). 


Two fun facts about me are I'm always musical and I like to have a good sense of humor and I think I was picked as the participant of the month because of my resiliency by being flexible in my schedule, my responsibility by doing my tasks a lot without being asked and my respect by respecting others' decisions and letting them talk first before me."

Richfield, MN July 2, 2020—Minnesota Independence College and Community has been named one of the Top Workplaces in Minnesota by the Star Tribune. A complete list of those selected is available at StarTribune.com/topworkplaces and was published in the Star Tribune Top Workplaces special section on Sunday, June 28.
 
Produced by the same team that compiles the 29-year-old Star Tribune 100 report of the best-performing public companies in Minnesota, Top Workplaces recognizes the most progressive companies in Minnesota based on employee opinions measuring engagement, organizational health and satisfaction. The analysis included responses from over 76,000 employees at Minnesota public, private and nonprofit organizations.
 
The results of the Star Tribune Top Workplaces are based on survey information collected by Energage, an independent company specializing in employee engagement and retention.
 
Star Tribune Publisher Michael J. Klingensmith said, “The companies in the
Star Tribune Top Workplaces deserve high praise for creating the very best work environments in the state of Minnesota. My congratulations to each of these exceptional companies.” 
 
Minnesota Independence College & Community (MICC) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit vocational and life skills training program for young adults with learning differences and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Since our founding in 1996, MICC has remained dedicated to helping our students make successful transitions towards independent living and self-sufficiency. 
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To qualify for the Star Tribune Top Workplaces, a company must have more than 50 employees in Minnesota. Nearly 3,000 companies were invited to participate. Rankings were composite scores calculated purely on the basis of employee responses.

Staff Profile: Mary Jo Bellinger,  Financial Services Coordinator

How long have you been at MICC?
I’ve been working at MICC part-time for 2 years.
 
Why did you choose to work at MICC?
Having worked at a number of nonprofits in the past, I know how important it is for me to feel excited about and connected to the mission of the place I work. And even though I don’t work directly with the students and participants, I like knowing that I’m using my organizational skills, time and energy towards something that matters in people’s lives and to our community.
 
What do you like best about your role at MICC (if possible, what other roles have you had at MICC)?
I’m kind of odd in that I like coming into a really complex, disorganized, and even chaotic situation and make sense out of it. I like being able to find the most efficient and effective way to do things. And in my new role I really like the fact that I get to work with families more to figure out their waivers for MICC.
 
Tell us more about the development of your role.
My role evolved out of billing for our students and participants becoming more and more complex, especially as related to waivers and 3rd party billing. Waivers are an amazing benefit for our families, but as they all know too well know from having gone through the approval process, getting a waiver and then billing, it is a very complex process that varies greatly from student to student.
 
What are the various roles you have held in your tenure at MICC?
I first started at MICC as the Development Database Coordinator. I enjoyed coming into a system that really needed some restructuring and consistent standards to be established or re-established. It was almost like working a puzzle each day for a while, looking at the minute detail and how it needs to function in a larger system, as well as what MICC needed. Once I got the database cleaned up and new standards of entry set, I was excited to have the new challenge in my current role. I guess I enjoy and thrive being in the ‘fixer’ role!
 
What are your responsibilities at MICC?
I manage our student and participant financial accounts. This includes family and waiver billing for our students and our Community Member participants, developing and maintaining systems for billing and serving as a resource for families and other third party funders for their student’s accounts.
 
How has MICC changed while you've been here?
In just the 2 years I’ve been here it’s been amazing to see our student population grow so much. And as a result of that growth, our staff and campus growing as well.
 
Could you share one of your favorite moments while at MICC?
I really enjoyed it last spring when I was able to bring several parties together related to waiver billing that was really complex and challenging, get everyone on the same page, and bring forth a solution together. Because of that work and those relationships I started then, it made waiver billing that much easier for the fall.

I loved the opportunity to meet individually with all of our college families this fall during New Family Orientation weekend. I’d communicated with everyone already by email, and some several times, in trying to work through waiver billing questions, but it was great to meet face to face. It was a great opportunity to meet the parents and students and clear up any questions they had or that MICC had and to further establish that relationship with our families for the years to come. 

What do you like to do outside of MICC?
I like to hang out with my husband and my two sons, ages 10 and 13. We keep pretty busy with lots of sports activities and family outings. During my rare quiet times, I like to go for walks with the family dog and read. 

Staff Profile: Luke Ekelund,  Advisor

How long have you been at MICC?
6 years.

Why did you choose to work at MICC?
I wanted to work in an educational setting that is non-traditional and I came across MICC.
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What do you like best about your role at MICC?
I like the one on one connection that I get to have with our students as an Advisor. During Advisory sessions, I get to see a different side to our students that not everyone gets to see. I appreciate making connections with families and share jubilation when students make progress.

Tell us more about the development of this program/position.
Advisor is not new to MICC, but the role has become more specialized. The Advisory Pod consists of individuals with a diversity of academic backgrounds, which allows for more comprehension in providing viable options to our students' independence. My background is in School Counseling, so having a supervisor that is more specialized in Occupational Therapy encourages me to think more analytically when faced with student scenarios.

What are the various roles you have held in your tenure at MICC?
Evening Instructor, Job Coach, Work Readiness Coordinator, Advisor.

What are your responsibilities at MICC?

• Partake in the continuous development and implementation of an advisory program that focuses on and promotes students’ success
• Meet with students or student groups to mentor and support them in their MICC experience
• Ability to respond effectively to the needs of a diverse student group
• Establish and communicate clear objectives for all advisory learning objectives
  
  

How has MICC changed while you've been here?
There has been a lot of changes. The biggest is that MICC has been more intentional with creating more systematic policies and specialized employee roles into Pod formats. Having specialized Pods allows for more detailed lessons and integrated individualized plans for students to utilize. The systematic policies create more efficiency in and around the organization as a whole.

Could you share one of your favorite moments while at MICC?
One of my favorite moments was at a MICC Homecoming kickball game a couple of years ago. Students, members, parents/guardians and staff combined to play a massive kickball game. It was neat to see everyone come together and cheer each other on during the game. If someone didn't want to play, then that was okay and they conversed with peers or family on the side. It was a nice way to see the MICC community come together.

What do you like to do outside of MICC?
I like to visit my family and friends around the country. I like to be outdoors doing activities like hiking, camping or exploring a state park. These activities fulfill me from within and give me a healthy rejuvenation for life.