With misty eyes and big smiles, postgraduate Olivia Cheney’s graduation from the Community Access (CAP) program on April 17 was celebrated by a packed room of family, friends, teachers and colleagues from the Northborough Fire Department.
Over her four years with the program, Cheney consistently brought joy to others and worked hard to improve her own skills. Through CAP, she also worked at the Northborough Fire Department and a local farm because of her desire to help others and her love for animals.
“I’ve seen [Cheney] grow to really enjoy working and take a really strong pride in the job she does,” Caitlin Hynes, who worked with Cheney over the last three years and helps oversee CAP, said. “I think people tend to underestimate Olivia, and she has a bigger personality, a bigger drive and bigger abilities than most people assume she has, and she absolutely loves to surprise people with what she’s capable of.”
Now, Cheney plans to attend another community based program to further develop vocational skills before entering the workforce, but she is very appreciative of her CAP experience.
“I love being here so much,” Cheney said. “I love my teachers.”
The graduation itself featured Principal Sean Bevan presenting Cheney’s diploma and a slideshow of her life, especially highlighting her family and friends at CAP. Reflecting on her daughter’s time at Algonquin, Cheney’s mother, Margareta Cheney, said the postgraduate program was invaluable.
“She just loves coming to school, and we’re gonna really miss it,” Margareta Cheney said. “This has been a very good place for her. I would recommend CAP for anybody [with special needs at Algonquin] who is thinking of not continuing on.”
Cheney’s best friend and fellow postgraduate, Norah Shaikh, also accompanied her through the CAP program, strengthening their bond.
“I first met Olivia on Nov. 6, 2013, when we were nine,” Shaikh said. “There are so many things about her. She knows how to make people laugh, she knows how to cheer me up. She lights up my entire life. And we complete each other.”
Hynes echoed this, saying that Cheney approached school with a contagious happiness.
“It can be a really rough day … and all of a sudden, [Cheney] just has a really funny joke, or something she says just has a way of making you laugh and shaking you out of whatever was bothering you before,” Hynes said.
Overall, Cheney says that her time at CAP has been a great success.
“I think we’ve nailed it,” Cheney and Shaikh said (in unison, of course).
