Young woman with Down syndrome achieves her dream of working with kids

From ABC Newspapers in Minnesota:

Sam Hagman (pictured) wanted to work with kids and nothing would hold her back, especially not Down syndrome.

Down syndrome can lead to a combination of major and minor differences in structure and impacts cognitive ability. The presence of all or part of an extra chromosome causes the disorder.

Hagman, 26, has lived her whole life with the disorder, but has gotten by quite well.After living most of her life with her parents Maggie and Matt Hagman in Ham Lake, she moved into a Blaine apartment with her roommate Jorja. Hagman calls four days in advance to arrange her own transportation with the Anoka County Traveler bus service.

For over the past six months, Hagman has worked with young children ages six weeks old to 10 years old in a child care program at the Andover YMCA.

Maggie Hagman said they raised Sam no differently than their son Luke, who is now 24 years old and lives in Duluth. They wanted to raise their daughter to become an independent person.

“She’s kind of her own ambassador,” Maggie Hagman said.Hagman’s cognitive skills were always on the higher end of the spectrum, her mother said.

When she was in school, Hagman spent about half the time in a special education setting and the other half of the school day in regular classes with her peers.

Hagman graduated from Forest Lake High School in 2001 and after one year in a transitional program in White Bear Lake, management at the Forest Lake Wal-Mart hired her.

“She wanted to work and give back to the community,” said Deborah Trenholm, of Life by Design.The Fridley-based Life by Design employs approximately 200 people who support people with disabilities in their homes or at their jobs.

Trenholm coordinates the supported employment services program, which currently helps around 30 people with disabilities.Life by Design assists them in the job search process and will stay in touch with the employer to make sure things are running smoothly. The clients of Life by Design fill out the job applications and go through the interview process like any other candidate, Trenholm said.

After eight years of working at Wal-Mart — three years in Forest Lake and five years in the Blaine Wal-Mart — the job no longer satisfied Hagman, so she worked with Life by Design to search for another job.

When Hagman heard about a child care position in the Andover YMCA Kids Stuff program, she was intrigued.“I love kids. I like the ‘Y’,” Hagman said.

Kids Stuff offers child care services to YMCA members from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Hagman is one of 35 YMCA employees, most of them part-time, who spends time with children. She works from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday feeding the young children with bottles or playing or reading with them.

It has been a good experience for the YMCA, said Kristen Perez, senior Kids Stuff coordinator. A lot of parents and employees have been drawn to her upbeat personality, Perez said.

Hagman does not start work until 9 a.m., but she arrives at the YMCA even before the sun rises over the horizon.

The Anoka County Traveler picks her up each weekday around 6 a.m. at her Blaine apartment and a half-an-hour later she arrives at the Andover YMCA. Hagman will swim in the YMCA pool and work out before she cleans up and goes to work.

After she is done with work at noon, Hagman will head home to eat lunch and relax before a Life by Design employee stops by her apartment.

Trenholm said Hagman meets with a Life by Design staff member for a total of approximately 20 hours each week to help with errands although Hagman will make a trip to a nearby gas station if she needs to pick something up.

“She plans her schedule,” Trenholm said. “Her calendar is very booked from her social activities, to grocery shopping or if she needs to run to the bank.”

Hagman does not always slow down during the evening. When chores are done, her social life awaits.On Monday nights, Hagman goes to a coffee bar and dance club in Coon Rapids called Sober City to dance with her boyfriend Jeremy. They once won a dance-off contest.

Hagman is also in a skilled bowler. She took third place in a tournament at Andover Lanes. She also loves to shop, talk on the phone and hang out with friends.Perez said every time Hagman comes to work, she has an interesting story to tell.“She has more of a social life than I do,” Perez said.