Community Living Manager Dan Kempler ’07 works in a house for people with disabilities, but you would never know it by talking to him. The former Psychology major, who enrolled in McDaniel’s Human Services Management graduate program in May, describes his housemates as family.

He takes one resident on midnight van rides because she loves to feel cool breezes on her face and purchase Reese’s Pieces at the convenience store. Another will listen to country and rap music, but no pop.

“It’s like being part of a family; goofing off, watching TV, shoveling snow,” says Kempler of life with the three residents in his house. “But it’s really fun because if you have an open mind, you’ll never see the same thing twice.”

The graduate program, begun in 1984 by Professor of Education Emeritus Donald Rabush B.A. ’62 M.Ed. ’70, enables students to earn a master’s in Human Services Management within two years. Whether they follow a human services management (HSM) or special education teaching track, all students receive 75-percent tuition scholarship as well as free room and board in a residence run by Target Community and Educational Services, Inc. Each student also receives a $17,000 graduate stipend per year. Target is a nonprofit agency that provides services to adults with a wide range of developmental disabilities. Forty-three residents live in the Target houses and apartments.

“The graduate program changes students’ lives,” says Education Professor Tom Zirpoli, who serves as CEO and president of Target and graduate coordinator of the HSM program. “Most of the students are in their 20s and have only had to keep up a dorm room. Now they have to keep up a house and clients with disabilities. It’s a huge responsibility and a real growth experience.”

Tonight, Kempler and co-manager Latoya Young are cooking chicken with soup for dinner. The kitchen is spacious, with a long wooden table at its center and a fridge plastered with pictures. Besides the everyday tasks of cooking and cleaning, they distribute medication, file piles of paperwork and keep up with residents’ family members.

Young and Kempler live in a separate apartment in the basement, where they each have a bedroom. They share a kitchen and a common room with a TV and high speed Internet. Although generously equipped, the den is spotless and virtually unlived in.

“If you’re doing your job right, it is empty down there,” says Young, who spends most of her time on the main floor. As a second-year student, she has made great strides with each of the residents, including her proudest moment: watching one housemate win medals at the Maryland Special Olympics.

 “Before, I saw them as disabled. Now, I see them as my family," she says. "They teach you how to be more sensitive, and it helps you not take for granted what you can do. ”

Young earned her undergraduate degree in Accounting. As she readies the kitchen for cooking, Kempler sits on a couch in front of the TV. Holding hands with residents on either side, he looks up and smiles.

“This is my family,” he says.

• Graduate Program
• Target Inc.