“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” – Denis Waitley
This is the philosophy followed by Michele Bredow, mother of OIPE Succeed Program student Taylor Russell. This same philosophy led Russell to enroll in the program. Russell recently completed her first year in Succeed and has already noticed major growth in her maturity and level of independence. “I’m more responsible. I'm making friends and being more sociable. I speak up for myself when I don’t understand [something] in class. I’m more responsible by keeping notes in my planner and I also get my homework done… Before [joining the Succeed Program] I was quiet and not very talkative. Now I am more sociable [when] meeting new people. I try to make new friends by saying ‘hi’ first and starting a conversation.”
Succeed faculty and staff take great pride in celebrating and embracing diversity and are very passionate about putting these beliefs into practice. Succeed contributes to the diversity of the St. Louis professional community through vocational experiences. Succeed vocational experiences are designed to allow students opportunities for self-discovery, acquisition and refinement of skill sets, and identification of passions. These experiences can take place on- and off-campus. Through these opportunities, students are not only cultivating work-related skills, but are also adding to workplace productivity and culture throughout St. Louis.
Succeed student Niko Puhar is developing his skill sets and laying foundations to achieve his career goals through his vocational experiences. Throughout the spring semester of 2015, Puhar interned at the Olin Library at Washington University. His main tasks included revamping the website, keeping the website updated and user-friendly, and adding to the design element of the website. Puhar spent at least eight hours a week at the library, taking public transportation to and from the UMSL campus.
