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Seeking Fulf illment

J

essica Borin should be five months
away from receiving her bachelor’s
degree in computer engineering from
the University of Michigan. But, instead
of finishing her senior year of college,
she’s taking a break from classes and
applying to U-M’s occupational therapy
program.
As Borin, 21, neared the end of her
undergraduate studies and was more
than one year into a lucrative job with
an Ann Arbor-based software develop-
ment company, this Walled Lake native
began to think very seriously about her
long-term job satisfaction if she stayed in
computer engineering.
“I really like the company I work for
and I like the fact that my job gives me
the chance to be part of something that
can improve the lives of individuals with
special needs, but I’ve come to realize
that being a computer engineer does not
provide me with the same fulfillment
I get from working directly with indi-
viduals with special needs,” said Borin,
who, if accepted into an OT program,

Volunteer jobs with kids with special needs
lead to passionate careers.

JENNIFER LOVY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ABOVE: Friendship Circle volunteer with Allie Jacobs in 2013; Lexie is now a behavior tech.

would be three or four years away from
graduation.
Once Borin made up her mind about
changing her career path, she sent
her parents, Howie and Beth Borin, a
PowerPoint presentation that included
the pros and cons of both computer
engineering and occupational therapy.
After viewing the presentation and
talking to their daughter, the Borins
came to recognize the true importance
of job satisfaction.
According to her parents: “If she knew
she didn’t want to program computers,
now would be the time to make the
switch. She made the decision that a
less-lucrative career with more daily sat-

isfaction was more important to her. Not
all 21-year-olds are mature enough to
make this decision.
“As to changing majors this late in
her academic career, it is obviously not
ideal. If she had made this decision when
she entered college, or even two years
earlier, it would have saved probably
$50,000. But, sometimes in life you can
only decide to travel down one path
when you have already attempted the
other.”
Aside from the fact that she is chang-
ing her major, Borin is among a grow-
ing number of young adults pursuing
careers in fields that provide them with
the opportunity to work within the spe-

cial-needs community.
Most, including Borin, credit
organizations like Friendship Circle,
Federation’s Opening the Doors pro-
gram, the Jewish Community Center’s
Special Needs Department, JARC, as
well as peer mentoring and buddy pro-
grams found in many of the area’s public
schools for sparking their career interests
by exposing them to individuals with
special needs.
Each year, Friendship Circle has
approximately 500 teen volunteers work-
ing directly with kids in a variety of pro-
grams, according to Yarden Blumstein,
teen director at Friendship Circle.
Last summer, the JCC employed 36
young-adult staff members to work
directly with its special-needs camp-
ers, according to Stephanie Zoltowski,
director of the JCC’s Special Needs
Department. More than 70 percent
of those hired were pursuing degrees
related to working with individuals with
special needs.
Through Opening the Doors, each

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December 13 • 2018

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