I began Transition Bridges because I saw a need to "bridge the gap" between graduation and employment opportunities for my adults with unique abilities. So many people were sitting at home without direction for their futures. Some had tried employment and failed for one reason or another. Others had no idea what direction to take. Still others had an idea, but were simply afraid to take the next step.
The adults had so many different needs that for awhile I felt overwhelmed as to where to start. I soon realized I was in a transition of my own. I had taken a leap of faith from what was safe and comfortable into a completely unknown future. I understood how my adults felt once they left the familiar routine of academics. I needed a starting point. I began to reach out to various community members and seek advice. Many of our adults don't even know what resources are available to them. One of the first things that had to happen was to educate them about all of the accessible community resources. (The community resources are listed on the Resource Page of this website).
I also realized I didn't know myself well. I was so busy raising a family, teaching and living life that I never stopped to think about my areas of strength. Did I even have any besides being a wife, mom and teacher? I met a Strengths Finder coach and immediately knew he was one of the answers I had prayed for. My coach, Ken Barr Jr., is phenomenal. I probably never would have tried to find a coach on my own. I discovered my strengths are arranger, connectedness, developer, belief and positivity. In a nutshell, I like to take a lot of different ideas and arrange and connect them until I have developed something new that will benefit many people, satisfying my need to act on my belief that everyone has something unique to offer the world and thus making the world a more positive place. Phew! Of course, there is a lot more to it than that, but knowing my strengths gave me such a profound look at how I was created and how I can best serve others.
I wanted this same insight for my adults with unique abilities. So often, because of the nature of the Individual Education Plan (IEP), our students know what their challenges are, but not what their strengths are. There is no blame here. In order to receive services, we have to prove deficit areas. The problem is, by the time our students graduate, they may never have discovered their unique abilities. I wanted my adults to benefit from knowing their strengths. I am now coaching my former students. I love seeing their faces light up once they discover their unique set of skills. From there we can determine the next steps to take.
The interesting thing is, many adults are like me and have reached midlife without knowing their strengths. Transition Bridges has become important for anyone in a life transition, not just people with unique abilities. I find myself coaching other adults as well and loving it. There is so much power in knowing what our strengths are. We all have them, although I have had individuals who don't believe it. I like to prove them wrong. :) Strengths are simply the natural things we do without even thinking about it. In fact, they are so simple we think everyone has the same abilities we do. They don't. Each of us is unique. We all have something to contribute to the well being of others.
So where to go from here? It is my deepest desire to see our adults connected to meaningful employment once they know and understand their areas of passions and abilities. Our adults with unique abilities desire to use their gifts just like all of us. They are excellent employees because they often don't take a job for granted. They appreciate an employer who offers them an opportunity to contribute to their place of employment. It gives me great joy to help people in a life transition who want to capitalize on their strengths to serve others. When people are operating out of their strength areas, everyone benefits.