A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. -Lao-Tzu By Sheryl M. and Devon K., CIP Berkeley Alumni ’10
Over the weekend of April 21st-22nd a group of CIP students, alumni, staff, and families participated in the 2012 Relay for Life event at UC Berkeley. Relay for Life is a 24-hour event that takes place at colleges and communities across the country to raise money to provide cancer patients support, and to help find a cure for cancer.
There are two types of fundraising opportunities with Relay for the life. The first is the “pre-event” fundraising. The CIP Berkeley team consisted of 9 members, 3 alumni and 6 current students. The team fundraised $2,516.44 for the event in just a little over a week, and ended up being the 3rd top fundraising team out of 87 teams.
The second type of fundraising is done during the Relay for Life event. The CIP Berkeley team worked very hard on our “Fight Back” activity. Each team had to make a cancer education activity to have at the event so that they could still fundraise.
Our activity “Wash Away Cancer”, took the much loved carnival game of darts and balloons and turned it around/. Our activity involved water balloons and turned into a matching game, matching a given specific type of cancer to a broader category. At the end of the event, we ended up winning first place for our activity!
The idea of the relay is to have a member of your team walking at all times for 24 hours (think keeping the baton moving), because cancer never sleeps. By taking shifts and turns, our team was able to do just that! But the event was not just walking, there were so many other amazing activities and performances to partake in. There was the Ms. Relay pageant, the car race, capture the flag at 12am (in the sprinklers), dodge-ball, an on-field Zumba class, improv performances, vocal performances, and getting to watch the UC Berkeley Quidditch team practice.
It was great to have other activities to join in on in the downtime when you were not walking. During the evening there was also the Luminaria Ceremony, which is a time to remember those we have lost, those who are still fighting, and those who have survived. It is also a time to come together, to listen to each other’s stories, and realize that we are all in this fight together.
The Relay for Life event showed the participants how rewarding it can be to take part in something bigger then themselves. It enables the students to take everything they have learned at CIP and expand on it: being courteous to others, exercising their social thinking skills they have accumulated, make goals and achieving them.
The Relay for Life event was an eye-opening and educational experience for many people on the team; learning how to put up a tent, sharing stories and memories of loved ones, working as a team, learning that we as individuals are capable of achieving a lot more then we give ourselves credit for, but also that it takes want and effort for progress to be made.
Though the Relay event is over, and each person who participated will take something that they learned away from the experience. So thank you to: Caitlin, Catherine, Mitchell, Arbor, Guido, Aaron, Jen, Josh, Sandy, Amanda, and Laurence for participating with us in the event. We could not have done it without you or the support of CIP Berkeley in letting us do this. We can’t wait to do even better next year, at Relay for Life 2013!!
Donating to teams does not close until August 31st, so if you are interested, please email Sheryl at meeuw51@yahoo.com
Creating a world with more birthdays and more bedtime stories, one lap at a time!!
Nick is a CIP Berkeley alumni who is on track to graduate from Humboldt State University this year with a B.A. in Geography.
During his time at CIP, Nick attended college at Berkeley City College, volunteered at Claremont Canyon planting redwood seeds, and held an internship at Sausal Creek propagating and planting native plants and monitoring water, bird, and aquatic insects. He took advantage of the many offerings the Berkeley area has available and CIP’s 4 planned weekend activities per week.
Nicks interests include maintaining the National Parks in California, Oregon, and Washington, working with organic products and fair trade certified stores and other companies related to healthy products. Along with being an avid runner, he eats healthy and grows his own vegetables.
Nick was nice enough to take some time recently to check in with us regarding his progress in college, employment, and life:
What types of accommodations/supports do you receive in college?
I am given extra time on exams–usually double time or more. I have a friend/social worker named Jessica who I see once or twice a week. Also, I sometimes see a young woman of nearly my age who attends HSU and who also is a social worker for me. One other person I meet with every few weeks is the owner of the company they both work for, HCAR, named Bill.
What is some past work experience you’ve had?
Two work positions I have had are a landscaper’s assistant (involving lawn mowing, trimming, sweeping, blowing) and an employee of a Nursery in Danville largely involved in watering plants, helping the store look presentable, and hauling products into customer vehicles.
What is your ideal job?
One of my ideal jobs is a worker on an organic farm.
Are you receiving financial support while enrolled in college?
I receive assistance that helps pay for my apartment and other expenses. I have assistance in paying my rent, gas, electricity, and internet, and independently manage my checking account.
What are some of your hobbies?
Some hobbies include reading books in a library that pertain to wildlife, running on most days of the week, and eating out two to three times a week at fast food restaurants and restaurants. In my spare time I might go for a walk in a nearby park or watch weather news.
What are you most proud of since leaving CIP?
Since leaving CIP I have become proud of my ability to cook healthy meals for myself and complete my assignments without supervision. A part of CIP I found most useful were the outings in areas outside of Berkeley because they offered more variety.
If you could still have 1 part of the CIP program
The recreational trips.
Where do you see yourself in 1 year? 5 years?
I see myself working on an organic farm in Sacramento or helping with reforestation efforts in the state of Washington within one year. In five years I see myself with a number of friends and traveling internationally with a humanitarian charity organization.
What advice would you give to a new CIP Berkeley student?
I would give newly enrolled CIP students the advice to take advantage of recreational trips to San Francisco and see some of the museums.
While she was at a party, an idea clicked in the mind of Amber Sellers. As she observed people making food art, she realized that she wanted to make her own food art as well. Not only was Amber ambitious enough to tackle this artwork, she also decided that it was time to combine it with one of her life’s goals: writing a book.
“It’s easier to express my emotions in real life because I can ‘sculpt them’”, Sellers said. “I like that the book helps people who read it in the same way”.
Sellers, 31, was born in Berkeley, California. While she was in middle school, she realized that she learned at a different pace than most people. She was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) as well as other learning differences. For Sellers, it’s important for her to have a routine of reprogramming her brain to do things that she knows are positive and healthy.
During the writing process, Sellers said that she was able to turn those feelings into something fun and creative. As a student at CIP Berkshire Center in Lee, Massachusetts, she learned skills that would benefit her while creating the book.
“I now know how to express my emotions and feelings to other people,” Sellers said. “I learned how to communicate with my roommates and get along with them.”
It took Sellers about a week to make all of the food art. She has a photo studio in her basement and captured the food art there. She credits her father as the person that taught her how to take photos.
In her book, Sellers uses adjectives such as jealous, frustrated, isolated, and kind. Her personal favorite sculpture from the book is “Resentment”. “It could be an eggplant or a turnip”, she said. “It looks mad. I think I did an excellent job of representing resentment”.
Although she enjoyed creating this book and takes much pride in her accomplishment, Sellers has no current plans of writing another one.
About Amber Sellers
Since graduating from CIP Berkshire in 2008, Amber Sellers lived independently in Pittsfield, MA while finishing her classes at Berkshire Community College. She then went on to obtain her A.A. degree from Monterey Peninsula College in California. When she returned to her home state of Maine, she worked in food services for both the Sea Dogs, a Boston Red Sox affiliate team, and the Red Claws, an NBA development team. During that time, she wrote “A Different Alphabet: All ‘Bout Choices… How to Explore Youth Differences”. She self-published the book and it’s available for purchase on Lulu.com.
Dave and his son Brian speak at Parent Weekend with Dr. McManmon about their experience during and after CIP Berkshire, a postsecondary program for young adults with Asperger’s, ADHD and other Learning Differences.
Tim Walker is a twenty-three year old college student taking classes in math, psychology, and communications at Northern Virginia Community College. He enjoys attending rock concerts, comedy shows, and any sporting event featuring his beloved DC teams. When not working for his internship at the Ford Nature Center in Alexandria, VA he spends his free-time hanging out with his girlfriend, cooking meals for his parents, and working out at the gym. Tim, a typical college student, is also a 2010 alumnus of the College Internship Program’s Berkshire Center in Lee, MA.
Tim spent his four years at the Berkshire Center taking courses at the nearby community college, learning residential skills such as managing his living space, and enjoying the social aspects of the program. He credits CIP academic staff with always willing to help with his college coursework. Some of Tim’s more memorable classes at BCC include American Popular Music, Acting I and II, and a Wine Appreciation course. Tim acknowledges the professors at BCC as being, “Very accommodating to my learning difference.”
From a social aspect Tim excelled at CIP. While attending weekend activities ranging from a Led Zeppelin tribute band to New York Yankees games, he was forging friendships that still exist today. Tim and other CIP alumni regularly gather for social outings in the DC area including Washington Redskins games, Lewis Black comedy shows, and an upcoming Bon Jovi concert.
Since leaving CIP, Tim lists some recent accomplishments as meeting his current girlfriend at an Asperger’s Social group and regularly attending a gym where he has already lost 35 pounds. Tim also praises the program saying it has given him a greater comprehension of his learning difference, “CIP has helped me do a lot of things better such as self advocating, I speak up for my rights at my new community college. CIP has also helped me to understand my diagnosis of Asperger’s a lot better!” Tim urges current students to try new and exciting activities, but also to save time for studying. Tim obviously understands the balance that all college students face!
When asked about where he sees himself in the future there is no hesitation in his voice, “Doing something that I love. Maybe something involving music because I am very knowledgeable about music.”
Margaret Markham speaks about Patrick, A year 2000 CIP Berkshire graduate who has utilized his talents to start his own business entertaining with balloons.
Tim Walker is a twenty-three year old college student taking classes in math, psychology, and communications at Northern Virginia Community College. He enjoys attending rock concerts, comedy shows, and any sporting event featuring his beloved DC teams.
When not working for his internship at the Ford Nature Center in Alexandria, VA he spends his free-time hanging out with his girlfriend, cooking meals for his parents, and working out at the gym. Tim, a typical college student, is also a 2010 alumnus of the College Internship Program’s Berkshire Center in Lee, MA.
CIP alumnus Jamie Oates recently visited the Berkshire Center to attend spring convocation, meet with staff and students, and start preparing for the upcoming alumni reunion in the fall.
Jamie was impressed with The Berkshire Center’s newest acquisitions; St. George’s Church and the Baird and Benton Block building, but was even more impressed by the overall growth and evolution of the program she attended in the late 1990′s.
By Sheryl Meeuwsen, CIP Berkeley Alumni
Usually when you graduate, you are supposed to move on with your life and leave the place that you have called home for the last few years. I swear that was my plan, but as I have learned in my life, things don’t always go according to plan.
I came into CIP in July 2008 completely broken. Everything in my life had been a downward spiral for the previous two years. I had failed out of two colleges, had lost two people that I loved deeply to cancer and had been suffering from mild depression and other issues.
Tim Walker is a 23-year-old college student taking classes in math, psychology and communications at Northern Virginia Community College. He enjoys attending rock concerts, comedy shows and any sporting event featuring his beloved DC teams. When not working for his internship at the Ford Nature Center in Alexandria, VA, he spends his free time hanging out with his girlfriend, cooking meals for his parents and working out at the gym. Tim, a typical college student, is also a 2010 alumnus of the College Internship Program’s Berkshire Center in Lee, MA.
Nick is a CIP Berkeley alumni who is on track to graduate from Humboldt State University this year with a B.A. in Geography.
While she was at a party, an idea clicked in the mind of Amber Sellers. As she observed people making food art, she realized that she wanted to make her own food art as well. Not only was Amber ambitious enough to tackle this artwork, she also decided that it was time to combine it with one of her life’s goals: writing a book.
CIP alumnus Jamie Oates recently visited the Berkshire Center to attend spring convocation, meet with staff and students, and start preparing for the upcoming alumni reunion in the fall. 
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