CROSS PLAINS, Wis. -- It's inside a Culver's in western Dane County where a member of the team is learning some valuable life skills as part of a job training program at the Middleton-Cross Plains School District.
His name is Ben Kells, taking part in Cardinal Academy, a unique post-high school program designed to develop students vocational, life and social- emotional skills.
Tommy Nguyen is his job coach.
"He loves to work, he loves to do his task, he always has high positivity, high energy (and) he always makes my day with jokes and all of that," said Nguyen.
He shared with News 3 Now Cardinal Academy's goal.
"(It's) to build (Ben) so that he can be independent in the future."
Ben tells News 3 Now his favorite part of working at Culver's is serving ice cream. He's worked a the Cross Plains location since May of this year, with store franchise owner/ manager Jennifer Romine saying Ben is a vital part of their team.
"Ben is awesome for our team members as well as it's good for our team members to work with kids like Ben and he learns a lot from them and we learn a lot from Ben so it's kind of fits both ways," said Romine.
The Middleton-Cross Plains School District says the Cardinal Academy Program works to help each student gain the skills they need to lead more independent lives and thrive as adults. To find more information, visit the district's website.
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