As soon as Harrisen started school at High Road he came in contact with teachers who understood his disabilities and they became a great support system for him. The staff taught him the strategies to excel with his academics, but more than that according to Harrisen, “they gave me the determination to put the strategies in place and not give up. They taught me to look inside myself to bring out my best potential.”

It wasn’t long before Harrisen became a role model at High Road and he began mentoring the other students. He started out by helping the younger students with their reading and math and became like a “big brother” figure in their classrooms.

When Harrisen turned 18 years old, he moved on into the High Road School transition program for students ages 18 -21.  For that year he was tutored in math so that he could strengthen his math skills in anticipation of taking college classes the next fall. He also participated in all the vocational activities that the transition program offered, such as how to write a resume and prepare for a job interview, social skills on the job, independent living skills such as budgeting and checkbooks, etc. to help prepare him for his future.

Because Harrisen was such a star student and had acquired such strong skills working with the students he mentored, Ron Chomicz (Education Director) offered Harrisen a job as a teacher assistant in the lower school upon his graduation. Harrisen was thrilled to be offered the job. “It felt really good, it was a great starting point for getting real job experience and to still be in contact with the people who I looked up to,” Harrisen explained.

Harrisen takes college classes in the evening and works at High Road during the day. His goal is to transfer to a four year college and become a physical therapist.

When asked how it felt to go from student to staff at High Road, he said that when he was a student here he didn’t always understand why things were done a certain way. Now he can see situations through the staff’s eyes and understands why things are set up the way they are. He finds himself saying the same things to the students that were told to him. When the students find out Harrisen went to school here, they can relate to him better. He tells them that whatever they are going through, he has been there. Harrisen will reason with the students and say, “Maybe some behaviors seem like the right way out, but they only lead to more negative consequences.  Listen to your teachers, they are right,” he stresses to the students. And they listen to him, because he has been in their shoes.

When asked to reflect on his experiences at High Road, Harrisen didn’t have to think long. “The most important thing I learned was how to carry myself as a person. I learned how to act appropriately in the community and how to present myself as a mature young man.”