MaryKate MacDougall was eager to deepen her understanding of special education during her final year of college and found the Sherlock Center’s interdisciplinary traineeship to be the perfect fit.
“The UCEDD trainee program offered a diverse range of opportunities and education that made me excited to apply for the position while I was entering my senior year at Roger Williams University interested in learning more about special education,” she said.
MacDougall learned about the traineeship, which is designed to prepare students from varying academic backgrounds to be future leaders in the disability field, while searching for an experience that aligned with her interest in special education and fit into her busy schedule as a college athlete in lacrosse.
“The Sherlock Center’s trainee program checked all those boxes and more. I saw a posting on their website and made the jump to send in an application and was ecstatic to get the opportunity to join for the 2024–25 school year,” she said.
During her time as a trainee, MacDougall worked closely under the supervision of Rhode Island Early Intervention (EI) Training and Technical Assistance Project Coordinator Leslie Bobrowski, whom she credits with providing strong guidance and encouragement.
“With her help, I was able to connect with Roger Williams alumni in the EI field, observe field work and at-home visits, access resources on infant mental health and collaborate to finish my senior year thesis around infant mental health,” she said.
The traineeship, which includes monthly seminars on topics in the disability field, also broadened her perspective on the field of special education. “I cannot express enough how much the traineeship added to my education. I was able to learn about the legal, financial, ethical, lifespan side of special education that I had yet to learn about. That added so much to my undergraduate experience,” she said.
One of the most valuable lessons she took from the program was the importance of asking questions.
“There is so much to learn but if you don’t ask questions, you may never know. Leslie made me feel so comfortable under her supervision – so much so that she was kind enough to set aside time for me to ask her questions about my future career possibilities as a nervous upcoming graduate,” she said. “The connection made to Leslie as a professional is incredibly valuable to me. I know more about the field because I was able to ask questions. This gave me further motivation to continue my work with confidence and curiosity.”
Following her graduation this spring, MacDougall is working as a nanny for a family with three young children, including a newborn, in Massachusetts while making plans to pursue graduate studies to continue working with children with special needs.
Reflecting on the value of UCEDD traineeships, she said, “It gives the individuals in the program the opportunity to spread their new knowledge, skills and resources to their local communities, wherever that may be, to then be a part of an educated change” and emphasized the importance of ongoing support for these programs: “Continuous education is key to making change, and the UCEDD programs do just that.”
Looking back on her experience, she said, “The connections made in this program are as equally as valuable as the knowledge gained, with a wonderfully made program that gives the trainees the ability to create their own paths.”