Voyaging to college

Connor McGrath is going to college. 

It’s not a small feat, considering some of the challenges he faces. A recent graduate of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS), McGrath is on the autism spectrum, and is navigating a society that isn’t necessarily built for him. 

McGrath, on top of the several other activities and educational programming he’s involved with, is traveling to the mainland one day a week to attend classes at Cape Cod Community College.

He is the first to attend college as a member of the Voyagers — a transitional program started in 2007 that helps graduating high schoolers on the Island. 

And he is an inspiration for his teachers and peers.

“Try to imagine coming from one world or one way of thinking, and adapting to another way of thinking; that’s a pretty big accomplishment right there,” Barbara Bianco, special education director for MVRHS, said. “That’s what Connor has done. It’s a huge lift. It’s awe-inspiring for us.”

McGrath has an obvious passion for life. Aside from taking classes at 4Cs, he also bowls, rides horses, sails, practices yoga, and plays tennis. But at home in Oak Bluffs, McGrath feeds his passion for locomotives, spending considerable time working on his self-published books about animated trains; he’s also produced some 300 YouTube videos on the locomotives featuring human faces, which are inspired by people McGrath he meets — a stream with nearly 150 subscribers.

Born in Beverly, McGrath moved to the Vineyard with his family in 2013. He entered fourth grade in Edgartown School, and was part of the Bridge program for students with special needs. At the Island high school, he was involved with the Navigators program from ninth to 12th grade. 

McGrath then became part of the Voyagers, which is a transition program at MVRHS that trains young adults with special needs on an individualized education plan between the ages of 18 and 22 to live independently. Voyager students work on building skills for determining where they want to work. 

Among the skills the program teaches are time and money management, goal setting, and résumé writing. Students also learn about safety, hygiene, grocery shopping, travel, laundry, and budgeting. They undertake internships, participate in mock interviews, and gain vocational vocabulary. Throughout, students strengthen their abilities for self-determination and self-advocacy. And they discuss furthering their education.

“Throughout the years with us, we have talked about college, to let him spread his wings and see something new,” said Jenn Woods, a transition specialist and special education teacher at MVRHS who has worked with McGrath for years. 

As it turns out, 4Cs has a program that allows students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including being on the autism spectrum, to attend college. So starting in September, every Tuesday morning McGrath meets Hallie Britt, a Voyager education support professional and his education coach, and the two take the ferry to Woods Hole before driving to the 4Cs campus in West Barnstable.

McGrath is currently enrolled in an English course where, among other things, he is learning grammar and how to write an essay. On the first day, McGrath said, he had to read about technology and then write about his relationship to it.

“Connor is our trailblazer,” Woods said. “But this is definitely something we’d like to see for other students in the future.” 

For his teachers and coaches, going to college wasn’t out of the blue, but it’s been a long process to get here, and it’s taken a community — from his family to his teachers and coaches. 

“This isn’t an isolated incident for Connor,” said Bianco. “All his educational support and the process he has gone through make his attendance possible. It is the work in the Navigator program, Hallie [Britt] as his education coach, and Jenn as his Voyager teacher that has set Conner up to be successful. Of course, they collaborate closely with his guidance counselor, Sheila McHugh-Hazell, and Connor’s family.”

McGrath attends the 4C class remotely on Thursdays. The rest of the time, he is busy with Woods, spending 35 hours a week with her. Through the Voyager program, he gains and practices vocational skills at his many internships all over the Island, at the Food Pantry, Island Autism, DIP-02539, Clothes to Go, Felix Neck Audubon Society, and the Trustees of Reservations. 

Woods said that showing students in the program the many opportunities available helps them see where they could possibly work or volunteer when they leave.

“The point of the Voyager program is to get the kids out into the community,” Woods said. “We also take the VTA, and go to all the police stations. They introduce themselves, and say how they act under stress, or things that they like or dislike, so that they are known faces around the Island. This way they can be supported at any point if they get lost or in an emergency. We want the kids to be well-known in the community. They are our most vulnerable population.”

“We try to get these kids as far as possible in their independence,” Woods added. 

Clearly, McGrath is on his way. 

“For him to be on the autism spectrum — to be able to adapt and respond to accommodations and the skills that have been taught to him — for him to absorb these skills and be able to apply them in a variety of contexts, including on a college campus, that is pretty significant,” Bianco said. “It’s huge.”

For more information about the Voyager program, contact Jen Woods at jwood@mvyps.org.