True Blue Pathways students experience college life, learn alongside peers at MC

True Blue Pathways students Timothy Miller, front row center, and JoJo Talley, front row, second from right, are enjoying their first semester of college at Mississippi Christian University. They are surrounded by Cindy Melton, left, MC professor of interdisciplinary studies and director of True Blue Pathways, and MC students who serve as peer coaches, Mallie Maffett, front row, second from left, Morgan Pipkin, front row, right, and back row, from left, Ally Mattern, Gabby Ayers, Lexie Elenkov and Josey Clark.

Students at Mississippi Christian University have known Timothy Miller as the young man who gives them cheerful fist bumps when they pick up their orders at the Chick-fil-A on campus.

This fall, they recognize him as a classmate.

Clinton residents Miller and JoJo Talley comprise the first cohort ot the new True Blue Pathways program, an inclusive, post-secondary certificate program at MC that provides a pathway to greater employment and enrichment opportunities for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Cindy Melton, MC professor of interdisciplinary studies and director of True Blue Pathways, said the two-year, 28-hour program consists of traditional college classes, tailored interdisciplinary studies courses and life-skills classes. True Blue Pathways students attend Chapel with their peers and participate in extracurricular activities as well.

“Walking around campus with our Pathways students is like walking around with two celebrities,” said Melton, who teaches an interdisciplinary studies course in the program. “Everybody knows them, and they are so enmeshed into what we’re doing at MC. Everything that other students have the opportunity to do on our campus, they are right there with them.”

Miller and Talley are embracing their college experience. Talley is on the cheerleading squad and brings energy to Choctaw athletic events. Miller sings in the Tenebrae Chorus and is scheduled to perform with the group this fall.

Last spring, Miller received the Central Mississippi Down Syndrome Society’s Educational and Job Training Scholarship, the first scholarship awarded by the CMDSS to support a student attending a university program. It allows him to attend MC and follow in his older siblings’ footsteps.

“Their example gave me the dream of going to college to get a good education,” he said. “It’s great to have new relationships at college, and I especially love going to Chapel on Thursday with all the other students. Eating on campus is also a highlight of mine.”

Talley has been on the cheer team since elementary school and cherishes the opportunity to continue her favorite pastime while in college.

“The social interaction she has with the other girls on the team has been amazing to watch,” said Talley’s mother, Allison. “They hold her to the same standards. The biggest challenge has been trying to fit all of her extracurricular activities in. I look at that as real-life experience, because one day she will have a job and she’ll know what it’s like to have to get up early after working late.”

Allison said academics remain the most important aspect of Talley’s participation in True Blue Pathways.

“No individual should ever stop learning,” she said. “Until recently, parents with special needs children had to accept that formal education would be over for their child after they graduated from high school. Pathways gives JoJo two more years of learning new skills, making new friends and an opportunity to mature by being around other young adults who are serious about making a mark in the world.”

Each True Blue Pathways student has three trained MC student “peer coaches” who provide classroom support, build relationships, encourage independence, celebrate their accomplishments and create genuine belonging. According to Melton, these students are also discovering that inclusion isn’t something that they do for someone else – it’s something that they create together.

Lexie Elenkov, a senior biology medical sciences major from Madison, became a peer coach to make a tangible impact on fellow students as they pursue their education.

“My favorite part of serving as a coach has been getting to know the Pathways students and learning more about their interests and personalities,” Elenkov said. “Throughout my time assisting with the Pathways program, I have been continuously reminded of the importance of humility when it comes to serving others. Service to our community is service to God, and we can’t further the cause of Christ without also being willing to grow and adapt.”

Ally Mattern, a sophomore nursing major from Madison, volunteered to serve as a peer coach in honor of a cousin with special needs who died three years ago.

“She was super special to me,” Mattern said, “but we were never certain what her future would look like, especially with college or living independently. The True Blue Pathways program gives young adults with special needs an experience like no other. I never got to see my cousin accomplish these things before her passing, but it brings me so much joy to be a part of other Pathway students’ journeys.”

Melton said the peer coaches and True Blue Pathways students are learning from each other and growing because of the experience.

“Inclusion changes a community for the better when everyone has an opportunity to contribute,” she said.

“At its heart, True Blue Pathways is about belonging and opportunity. We want all of our students to have a chance to experience every bit of college, grow in independence and confidence, build meaningful relationships and prepare for a purposeful adult life. College was something our Pathways students and their families never thought was possible. So now, they are fully immersed in it.”

The program embodies the University’s vision of being an institution dedicated to excellence in education and committed to the cause of Christ.

“We talk about seeing the value, the God-given potential, in others, of serving others, building communities and preparing students for lives of purpose,” Melton said. “Pathways gives us an opportunity to live those values in a tangible way.”

She said one of the most meaningful things has been watching True Blue Pathways families watch their students become college students.

“There were a lot of happy tears when the Pathways students first stepped into their college roles,” Melton said. “They have sometimes been told that some opportunities aren’t meant for them. Our University said something different. We said, ‘There’s a place for you at MC.’ As a former inclusion teacher in Clinton, that has brought me so much joy.”

That joy is reflected by Miller and Talley’s families, who have already seen True Blue Pathways’ impact on their students.

“In just three weeks, I’ve noticed a change in JoJo,” Allison said. “She cares more about her appearance, thanks to being around students that she admires. She’s communicating what she did during the day around the dinner table, and she can’t wait to get up in the morning and go to class.

“This program will be successful, and there is no limit to what can come of this.”