Toward the back of I Like Comics on Thursday, 21-year-old Kortney Montgomery is stuffing cardboard slips into plastic comic book envelopes.
Montgomery, who has a developmental disability, is shy and says little, but grins and holds clenched fists to her mouth when asked what she likes about her job.
“Favorite!” she said, cheerfully, as she took a break from preparing envelopes.
Montgomery and four other students are members of Vancouver Public Schools’ Gateway to Adult Transition Education program, or G.A.T.E. The program serves 18- to 21-year-olds with developmental disabilities. Students and their families learn how to navigate social services, participating in community activities and going to various job training programs across the county.
Mark Shellenberger, one of the teachers at the program, said students graduate with job skills that can allow them to succeed in later life.
“It’s just to provide a more realistic transition to life after school,” Shellenberger said.
Shellenberger, wearing a T-shirt decorated with Marvel comic book characters, is a professed comic book geek. He first began taking students to the store when it was Odyssey Comics and Coffee, and the partnership continued when Chris Simons bought the shop and opened I Like Comics a little more than two years ago.
The relationship is an all-around win, Simons said. Students benefit from learning job skills, he has volunteers who can help him do upkeep once a week, and he’s able to support the community.
“We can use our business as a platform to improve the world around us,” Simons said.
Shellenberger spoke highly of the other job training sites — thrift store This-N-That, Rite Aid, garbage collection at Klineline Pond — but noted there’s something about comic book fans that makes the relationship with the store special.
“It’s a community that’s gracious and accepting,” Shellenberger said.
According to Vancouver Public Schools’ website, about 40 students are enrolled in the program. Students can participate up to 30 hours a week, but Shellenberger said students occasionally will find part-time work while enrolled and will scale back their hours in class. Students also develop video resumes showing footage of themselves working at various job sites, a helpful tool when they enter the work force.
G.A.T.E. also connects students who need additional help with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, a division of the Department of Social and Health Services that helps individuals with disabilities find jobs. But having work experience in high school sets students on an early path to success.
“We want them to see the value of getting out and working,” Shellenberger said. “It’s more than a paycheck. It’s a community.”
Daniel Barich, 20, sorted large boxes of comic books in the store, matching titles by series.
Barich will graduate from the program in June, and would like to do a job afterward that allows him to use his speaking skills, he said.
“It gives me more of an opportunity to be outgoing in the community,” he said. “It’s been fun. It’s given me some good hands on skills.”
Plus, he added, holding up a water bottle adorned with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it gives him a chance to flip through issues of his favorite comic book series. That and Power Rangers, he added.
Bryan Leyva, also 20, joined Barich in sorting books.
“It’s a fun job,” Leyva said. “It gives you experience.”
And, he added of the expansive store, “It’s like a treasure chest.”
