Sara Turner is a student who can put a few trailblazing firsts on her résumé - one is to be the first female in her work study program and another is to be the first of that program to intern with the Lincoln University Police Department.
Turner is one of three Jefferson City High School students this year who are part of the local Project SEARCH, a program designed to put students with significant intellectual and developmental disabilities in an opportune position after their last year of high school to gain competitive employment.
Meeting new people is her favorite part of the program so far, she said.
"It definitely opens up opportunities we wouldn't have had," Sara's mom, Lisa Turner-Lehman, said.
LU is the local host for the Project SEARCH program, which has at least four other chapters in Missouri - none of which are particularly close to the Jefferson City area.
Since its inception at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in 1996, Project SEARCH has grown to include program hosts in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 11 other countries and territories internationally.
JCHS's Project SEARCH coordinator, Laura Anderson, said the program is for "students trying to figure out what to do next" after graduation.
Anderson said JCHS partners with LU to send students to sites throughout LU's campus to work in unpaid internships. Students rotate through three sites during their last year of high school, spending the entirety of their school days at their work sites.
At the sites, students learn skills and develop maturity that will help them transition from high school into the job market and hopefully make them more competitive applicants for jobs that pay above minimum wage.
Even after they receive their diploma, local provider Missouri Rehabilitation and Employment Group (MORE Group) continues to supervise students' transitions, JCHS Assistant Principal Jeffrey West said.
The partnership between JCHS and LU is in its third year; seven students completed the program the first year and five the second year.
Anderson anticipates six to eight students for next year.
Of the first seven students, she said, five gained employment and held their positions for more than 90 days after the end of their post-graduation job-coaching from the MORE Group - the marker of success.
Employers that have hired previous interns include Scholastic, Missouri's division of IT security, the News Tribune, Jefferson City Country Club, Hy-Vee, El Espolon Mexican restaurant, LongHorn Steakhouse and the local Goodwill store, Anderson said.
In terms of Turner's progress, she asks questions on her own now and relays answers back to her - she "couldn't have done that in the past year," said Rebecca Diggs, Turner's academic facilitator.
Turner's mom said the development she's noticed in her daughter has been "close to a miracle."
"People can recognize that she does have skills" and accept her, she said. "She's gained a lot of confidence."
The tasks Turner has been working on of late have been organizing parking tickets in alphabetical and chronological order, as there was a large backlog of tickets from winter break.
"It's even nice to (be able) to hear her complain" at home about the writing quality on some of the tickets, Turner-Lehman said.
Officers Greg Petersen and Michael Menning said they've both enjoyed Turner's presence at the department. Menning said he's shared pizza and played UNO with Turner and Diggs.
Turner's presence has been beneficial for the officers and the department in other ways, too.
Menning said the daily interaction with a differently-abled person has been good experience for him out on patrol, learning to deal "with something we're not used to dealing with on a normal basis."
Petersen said Turner has helped them accomplish a lot of office work they normally have trouble getting to as a small department.
She also helps keep the department environment positive.
"She keeps us from being at '10' all day," he said of the calming effect she has on their stress levels.
Anderson said other Project SEARCH sites on LU's campus include the library and cafeteria - Turner's first placement site this year was the Inman E. Page Library.
Carlos Graham, LU's director of campus and community relations, said the mail room was added Wednesday as another site, and he will meet with the IT department next week to discuss possibilities there.
At the end of the year, Turner not only will graduate from Project SEARCH but also will be part of commencement ceremonies at LU, Graham said.