Helping kids at camp was best part of STEP internship

High school student Brandon Kornbau from West York spent a second summer working as a STEP, or Student Transition and Employment Preparation, intern at VisionCorps and he says it’s been great.

“Vision loss is the norm here,” says Brandon, “which is why I chose to do the internship at VisionCorps.”

Brandon, a rising junior at West York High School, spent last summer as an intern in the Lancaster office where he learned and helped on the helmet pad manufacturing line. This year, he spent most of his time in the York office, working on the highway delineator line and with urinal cake packaging.

“In my first job, I didn’t know what to say about my vision. I couldn’t do what they wanted me to do, because I couldn’t see things,” and Brandon says he was let go.

That was hard for him. In contrast, at VisionCorps, people understand that most employees have some form of visual disabilities, and it’s okay.

His STEP internship was different this year. He spent most of his time in York and says the delineator line was “fun to do.”  He also learned the process of packing the urinal cakes or “blue hockey pucks in a cage.”

The best part, says Brandon, were the weekly camp sessions with kids who have impaired vision.

“I really enjoyed working with the kids at camp. It was easy to talk with the kids and I liked helping them learn navigation skills like when we visited the mall and went to the grocery store.

“You didn’t have to be an adult, you could just be friends with them,” says Brandon. “I wish the camp would have been longer!”

After spending the summer at work, he thinks school is easier.

“It’s challenging, but it’s not hard. People who complain about it are overreacting.”

“You have to get up and be here by 7 a.m. and then work all day,” he says. “You don’t have to do that much in school, and it’s cool to see your friends.”

Brandon works with a vision teacher who helps him with accommodations such as sitting in the front of the room and using large print and bigger papers. His notebook, a Chromebook, also has accessibility features that he uses.

After school, Brandon likes to play the guitar and play video games with his friends.

He is not sure what he’ll do when he graduates. He likes philosophy and might want to study it. Brandon likes the idea of using a degree so he might pursue auto mechanics.

But next summer, he might choose to return to VisionCorps.

“I really enjoy working here.”

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