Summer Work Program Continues to Expand in 2025
By Drew Milne
The Sonoran Center’s Summer Work Program just wrapped up its fourth year. Since 2021, the Summer Work Program has allowed students with disabilities to earn real money for real work while building connections and making memories for a lifetime.
2025 saw the program continue to expand, with 200 student participants and 60 employer partners, according to Kelsey Montaño, the Sonoran Center’s Pre-Employment Transition Services Project Coordinator. Montaño attributes the Summer Work Program’s growth in the last four years to a combination of network building, word of mouth, and strong working relationships.
“Through the conferences that we’ve attended and the relationships that we’ve been building with local providers and Vocational Rehabilitation counselors, they’re able to understand what we do, how we do it, and what our process is like. From there we’ve had much more engagement,” Montaño said. “Overall, word of mouth, local engagement, employers' rapport, and the support that we have has built many sustainable relationships over the last three years.”
Loretta Alvarez, the Sonoran Center’s Transition Program Manager, believes that employers seeing the benefits of a diverse workforce also contributes to the program’s success.
“Employers are getting the opportunity to see what it’s like to have an employee with a disability doing job tasks at their work, and seeing the success that happens when the right supports are in place; whether it’s a job coach or a different type of job aid like a checklist or a timer. Also, they are seeing how the work environment becomes more positive when we have a more diverse workforce with people with disabilities.”
In addition to the influx of new student participants, new employers joined the program also, like InJoy Thrift, El Pueblo Real Center, and the Deseret Industries.
Last year, Alvarez and Montaño mentioned bringing in other Community Rehabilitation Providers. Following through on that goal, this year brought in Best Buddies, who took on their own set of cases this year.
While the numbers continue to grow, these figures never fully capture the fact that behind each participant is their own story.
“We had a student start our program recently, who was selectively mute. He’d used his voice in the past, but he has some work anxiety when it comes to [life] transitions,” Montaño said. “On his last shift, he used his voice. He had a full conversation, asked questions, and reflected with the job coach about how the experience was. It was a beautiful full-circle for that student and for our staff to be a part of it.”
“I think because he felt supported and had the opportunities to communicate in different ways, it allowed him the comfort level to open up and speak,” Alvarez added.
Thinking of how the Summer Work Program has benefited other students, “There’s tons of growth across the board,” Montaño said. “That can be taking responsibility for their actions or outgrowing social anxiety they initially had, increasing their hours, advocating for their wants and needs, or working with their employers.”
Looking ahead, Montaño and Alvarez see the program working with more partners and expanding into more regions to bring the Summer Work Program to new audiences.
“We want to partner with other providers to take on the summer vocational specialist role. Best Buddies was great! They were a really amazing partner this summer,” Alvarez said.
"We are looking at expanding into other regions and areas. We want providers to partner with us. If there is already a provider in the community doing good work and wants to work with us to bring the SWP to their area, we can do that. Then they build the relationships with employers and families, and can expand on this work, such as long term supports,” she added.
Alvarez and Montaño would like to thank the dedicated, hard-working team of vocational specialists who made this all possible and for our partnership with Vocational Rehabilitation who funds this project.
“The team is so amazing. I’m in awe,” Alvarez said.
“I’m grateful for the team. I’m grateful for the student workers to take a chance and have this opportunity to expose themselves to this type of work,” Montaño concluded.
