A year ago Jazmin Mercado found an opportunity that changed her life. "This experience for me has been something that taught me a new world," says Mercado. "I had always heard of the apprenticeships but I didn't know exactly how one entered, right?"

DeAnna Pursai and Dr. Pamela Linsay founded College of Adaptive Arts in 2009 to give adults with disabilities the collegiate experience. Today, CAA is based out of Saratoga’s West Valley College and serves nearly 200 students across nine states, most of whom are living with a developmental or intellectual disability.