For 18 students with disabilities in Las Vegas, last week was extremely busy. The teenagers attended the 5-day intensive CRAVE camp designed to help them tackle the future of their choosing.

The camp, staffed with VISTA volunteers and funded through BVR, was organized into two workshop-style groups. One focused on employment and the other focused on higher education. The employment group discussed topics such as how to find a suitable job and how to dress for an interview. Students in this group also had help writing resumes and went on mock interviews. Students in the education group discussed how to choose a major and what to expect from professors and their (occasionally boring) lectures.

At night, the campers performed skits, played games and attended a David Copperfield show (they were, after all, in Las Vegas.)

Pavan Vangipuram, a VISTA volunteer who helped run the camp, said the feedback has been largely positive.

Vangipuram said that even the speakers who failed to capture the students’ imagination  turned into a valuable lesson. After all, they have to learn how to sit through those boring college lectures.

Read more about VISTA volunteers at:
Capturing stories of self-advocacy
Posting People First advocacy all over the capital
VISTA website