Landon Wilkie- Student
Landon Wilkie is a senior at Frankenmuth High School. Landon has participated in several transition services from Freshman through Junior year. He completed the 1st Steps to Employment class in Freshman year. During his sophomore year, Landon participated in a paid Work Based Learning Experience at Wellspring in the kitchen. He did such a fantastic job he was offered an entry-level part-time job. From there, he attended Bay-Arenac Career Center with a career pathway focused on automotive. Junior year, Landon worked on job readiness skills- resume building and interview skills. He earned certifications through his automotive program. In May 2023, Landon joined the Frankenmuth Mike Young Buick GMC team as an automotive technician. When asked, what is your favorite part of your job? Landon stated, “The coworkers are my favorite part of the job, along with doing tire and engine repairs.”
Eric Rutherford- Hartley Outdoor Education Center Director
This past summer, the Hartley OEC staff welcomed several groups of students from the WBL program. Over several weeks during the summer, these students participated in various outdoor projects that provided individual opportunities to gain practical work experience and develop essential skills. Hartley OEC Program Director, Eric Rutherford stated, “This was truly a mutually beneficial collaboration, with the students not only contributing to our outdoor projects but gained a valuable skill set that will assist them in their future endeavors”.
Eric M. Rutherford is entering his 11th year as the Program Director of Hartley Outdoor Education Center for the Saginaw Intermediate School District. With 17 years of experience in outdoor recreation and education, Eric has a strong passion to utilize nature and the outdoors to connect students to enhanced and hands-on learning opportunities.
Mr. Rutherford completed his undergraduate degree from Saginaw Valley State University and his Master’s Degree in Strategic Communication and Leadership from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. Eric has been married to his wife Stacey for 23 years. Together they have a daughter, Graysen who is a freshman at Wayne State and a son Finley, who is a sophomore at Heritage High School.
Lisa Gonzales-Environmental Lead for Linen Dept. at Covenant Hospital
Lisa has been working with Covenant for about 6 years. She has four kids and enjoys spending time with them and going for bike rides in her free time.
She has been working with our students for almost 5 years. Lisa started out as an Environmental Services Aid and Bed Girl. After that she trained as a porter and moved into linen from there. After three years of hard work in linen, Lisa was promoted to Lead Environmental for linen which is where she is now. Lisa started working with our students when she was a porter before transferring to linen. She states that “working with the students has been a real joy for me. I like to see their growth as well as see the students come out of their shells.”
Linzy Crippin- YCAN and SOAR Worksite Supervisor
Linzy Crippin is the YCAN and SOAR Worksite Supervisor. This is her 8th year of teaching which included working at Arthur Hill High School before moving to the ISD.She earned both her bachelors and Masters Degree in Special Education with a C.I. Endorsement from Saginaw Valley State University.
Working at the Transitions center has been so rewarding as it gives her the opportunity to teach students vocational skills and let’s her connect and work with our community partners throughout the county.
She often collaborates with the School to Work Team in helping students gets competitive employment and job shadowing opportunities as well as coordinating with them on the Covenant Summer Project. It is very rewarding to see past students in the community working and viewing their success first hand.
Lego Sets to feature Braille
Through a push for more inclusive learning and experiences, LEGO is introducing braille bricks-"Play with Braille" as part of its sets they sell. These bricks include both printed and braille letters, numbers and symbols to make it more accessible to all ages. Check out the article below to learn more!
