Marcus Lewis didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life.
He had a couple different jobs — bagging groceries at Kroger, working security part time — but he wasn’t passionate about them.
So when one of his job coaches told him about a new training program for adults with disabilities at Allison Transmission, he was excited about the chance to build a career doing something he enjoys.
“A job is somewhere you go to work,” said Lewis, 23. “I feel like a career is something you love to do. So, I would rather have a career than a job for the rest of my life.”
Lewis recently earned his advanced manufacturing certificate after completing classes at the Erskine Green Training Institute, which is run by The Arc of Indiana. The program, which expanded from Muncie to Indianapolis last year, offers training programs at Allison Transmission and Riley Hospital for Children for adults with disabilities.
Per 2024 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people with disabilities were far more likely to be unemployed and nearly twice as likely to work part time as compared to workers without disabilities. A recent report from Urban Institute also found that more than 38,000 disabled people in the U.S. earn less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, and most earn less than $3.50 per hour.
Erskine Green’s mission is to help disabled adults of all ages get training and ultimately be employed into better-paying, satisfying jobs.
“When you can find employment and be successful,” said Megan Stevenson, director of Erskine Green Training Institute, “it just opens up doors to a greater independence and a more fulfilled life.”
Giving students options
Erskine Green was founded in 2016 in Muncie as a residential program for adults with disabilities to get work experience and learn life skills.
Most students live at the Courtyard Marriott in Muncie and get training in food service, health care and hospitality. But when thinking about expanding programs to Indianapolis, Stevenson said they chose to take a different approach to make the classes accessible for local students.
“We desire options for those that we serve,” said Stevenson, “because everybody comes from a different walk of life.”
Unlike some other educational programs for adults with disabilities, such as Indianapolis Public Schools’ SITE program, Erskine Green is focused on supporting students who have already completed high school and are “ready for adult life,” Stevenson said.
The program is operating on a small scale in Indianapolis. In fact, Lewis was the only student in his class to complete the program at the end of February.
Staff have high hopes that the program will expand in Indianapolis. But even if it doesn’t, for manufacturing instructor Phil Smith, the investment in just a few students’ futures would still be worth it.
“Anytime that anybody can provide for themselves, you have a little more pride in yourself,” Smith said.
A different kind of education
Growing up, school was difficult for Lewis. Because of his learning disability, he struggled to sit and listen to lectures for long periods of time.
Some of his teachers “treated him as though he couldn’t learn,” his mom, Tara Lewis, said.
“Everything was kind of boring,” Marcus Lewis said. “They said I had a bad attention span.”
When Lewis turned 18, he transferred from a large public high school to a smaller, adult learning program, where he earned his diploma. But his previous experience had cemented a belief that college and higher education weren’t for him, his mom said.
His mom encouraged him to pursue something with his hands, a different type of education than he’d had before. That ultimately led him to the manufacturing training program.
For maybe the first time in his life, Lewis was actually interested in the material he was learning — and that made all the difference. He enjoyed the hands-on, repetitive nature of the work, even making it a point to get to class 15 minutes before the 6:30 a.m. start time every day.
He always came home excited to tell his mom about his day.
“It’s something I want to do,” said Lewis, “so I make the time to go to sleep early, do what I need to do to be ready.”
A life of possibility
When Lewis first joined the program, Smith wasn’t sure if he had what it took to succeed. Working in manufacturing requires clear communication between coworkers, and Lewis was quiet and soft-spoken.
But as the days went on, Smith noticed Lewis begin to open up. After two other students in the class dropped out, there were many days when it was just Smith and Lewis in the classroom, running assembly line drills or rebuilding transmissions.
“We had a good rapport,” Smith said. “There was a lot of good conversation, not just on manufacturing, but we also got to talk about life.”
Earning his certificate and completing the training program showed Lewis that he’s capable of more than he ever imagined for himself.
“It taught me not to give up as quickly when stuff got hard or complicated,” he said.
Learn more and apply
Apply online to Erskine Green programs at Riley Hospital for Children or Allison Transmission. The program is intended for adult students whose academic, social and adaptive skills have been affected by a disability.
You must be at least 18 and be able to provide proof of diagnosis of a disability to apply.
To learn more, contact info@egti.org.
Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Contact Claire by email claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org, on most social media @clairerafford or on Signal 317-759-0429.
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