Research center teams up with Anne Carlsen Center

Offering student employment opportunities at center

Article taken from The Jamestown Sun, Tuesday, February 9, 1999

Several students from Anne Carlsen Center for Children will now have an opportunity to work in a unique setting - the U.S. Geological Survey's Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Northern Prairie has dedicated a portion of its funding for research in the northern Great Plains to support of Anne Carlsen Center students. This effort is an initiative designed to match the educational needs of the students with Northern Prairie's long-standing commitment to educational excellence in Jamestown, and North Dakota.

Ronald Kirby, Center Director, proposed to Anne Carlsen Center for Children Administrator Michael Gillen, that the two facilities work together to start a tailor-made program for the older students, ages 14 to 21, at Anne Carlsen Center. This educational employment program will commit to support at least one student as a Federal employee and perhaps as many as 4 as volunteers elsewhere in the Research Center.

The work program at the Wildlife Research Center will make incentive awards available to the students for their work in various areas. According to Kirby, they currently have two students lined up to work with their maintenance personnel, and it is likely that two more will be helping with computer processes in the Research Center's extensive library.

The Center annually hires many university students for seasonal research, and is currently directly supporting one Ph.D. and one M.S. candidate. The educational program at Northern Prairie is broad. "It includes seasonal hiring of students and signing up others as volunteers to assist with programs and to provide hands-on training in support positions at our Center," said Kirby. " The U.S. Geological Survey strongly believes that students with special needs can and should be integrated into the community. Our goal is to give them a flying start!"

Anne Carlsen Center for Children Administrator Mike Gillen is pleased to have this opportunity develop for the students and anticipates a bright future for the two facilities to work together on the program.

Pictured, left to right, are Michael Gillen, administrator of the Anne Carlsen Center; Ronald Kirby, director of Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, and Laurie Skadsem, community integration/vocational development manager.

"I just want to express my gratitude to Ron. He needs to be commended for his efforts. It has taken two years to pull this all together," stated Gillen. "Ron had the foresight and perseverance to make it happen. He spent time working with his staff to ensure the children and staff are comfortable in working with each other."

Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center is responsible for grasslands research for the Department of Interior with emphasis on migratory birds and wetlands. Their primary goals are to integrate wildlife concerns with human concerns in the agricultural environment of the Great Plains. The Center employs approximately 50 people in the Jamestown area and is located southeast of Jamestown, just south of the Bloom exit.

Anne Carlsen Center for Children is located in northwest Jamestown and is a facility which offers residential, educational, and therapeutic programs to children with special needs and their families. The Community Integration and Vocational Development Program began at ACCC in 1988. The program provides community based vocational experiences for students ages 14 - 21 years. During the vocational development process, young adults are matched with employers in the community to accommodate the needs of both.

At the present time, approximately 50 businesses in Jamestown support this program providing paid or non-paid vocational experiences for our students. If you have questions or want to participate in the program, please call Laurie Skadsem at 800-568-5175 or 701-252-3850 extension 134.