UNION GROVE — There's a town in Wisconsin that seemingly has all the characteristics of a standard small rural community.
There's a diner everybody goes to, just one grocery store, and a small downtown lined with mom-and-pop shops. Roughly 5,000 people live in Union Grove.
“It’s just your typical small town with really really good people here," Rosalie Gresl, the owner of Country Rose Bakery and Cafe, said.
However, one thing makes Union Grove stand out. The diner, bank, and other small businesses all focus on employing people with disabilities.
“My roommate also has disabilities. Both of our disabilities don’t matter. There’s lots of people who live in Union Grove who have disabilities," Union Grove resident Rachel Ahrens said.
This isn't a coincidence. It's all by design. There is a school in Union Grove called Shepherds College that specifically teaches students with disabilities. Students live in dorms, learn to be independent, and pick a major to hopefully get a job after graduating just like any other college student in America.
“Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities have unrealized potential," Sarah Kolkman, the director of curriculum and online instruction at Shepherds College, said.
The town of Union Grove banded together behind a common goal - to give everyone an equal chance by hiring as many people with disabilities as possible. That's why so many Shepherds College alumni, like Rachel Ahrens, have stayed in the town. She got a job after college.
“They treat us like normal people. We’re just normal people our disabilities don’t matter," Ahrens said.
For the 26th episode of the My Block series, I met with Rachel so she could show me her neighborhood through her eyes and experiences. Everywhere we went and who we talked to was all up to her. There was no script to follow. Welcome to Rachel’s neighborhood.
Rachel Ahrens
Rachel Ahrens graduated from Shepherds College in 2018. Directly after, she got an apartment with another Shepherds College alumni in Union Grove.
She has worked at the Shepherds Community Cafe and Piggly Wiggly. Later on in this story, we will visit the community cafe, but the first stop Rachel had was to go to Piggly Wiggly.
Rachel started in the bakery department in 2019 and now works as a grocery bagger.
"I didn’t think I would get hired right outside of college, and I did," Ahrens said. “Thanks to Shepherds College I was able to gain appropriate independence and my parents never thought this would be where I’d be as a 31-year-old.”
This Piggly Wiggly is the only grocery store in Union Grove. There are other small markets and convenience stores, but none quite reach the size and scope of a full-on grocery store.
“Rachel is a light. She's always got a positive attitude, always. She brightens people's days, other employees, customers. She’s always friendly," Carolyn Preston, the owner of this Piggly Wiggly, said.
The market has hired multiple part-time employees and a dozen interns from Shepherds College. The school said it has about an 80% job placement rate.
“Everyone is accustomed to students from Shepherds College being around, and I just love they are being accepted, and given the opportunities that they are," Preston said.
Ahrens said that she plans on continuing to work at Piggly Wiggly. While she works as a bagger now, she wants to return to the bakery section eventually.
Country Rose Bakery & Cafe
The next place Rachel brought me was to one of her favorite restaurants in town, the Country Rose Bakery & Cafe. She goes there about once a month.
"If anyone comes in town, we always go to Country Roads Bakery & Cafe," Ahrens said.
Country Rose is the community gathering space and just like Piggly Wiggy it has hired full-time staff, part-time staff, and dozens of interns from Shepherds College. The restaurant has been doing this for the past 14 years.
“I want to make this clear. It’s not done out of pity or anything like that. It’s done because they do very well and they’re very productive," Rosalie Gresl, the co-owner of the cafe said. “It just works really really well. I don’t know what else to say.”
One employee in particular has made a lasting impression on the cafe, Gloria Engdahl.
“I felt like Shepherd’s College prepared me more not just occupationally, but for life itself. It helped me to live beyond a job like living on my own without my parents," Engdahl said.
Students at Shepherds College can major in three different fields: culinary, technology, and horticulture. Gloria graduated from the culinary program in 2011 and has worked at Country Rose in the bakery department ever since.
“I love what I do. The environment is great," Engdahl.
On a personal note, Gloria also married a fellow Shepherds College alum for almost eight years.
Shepherds Community Cafe
After we visited Country Rose, Rachel took us to a business unlike any other, Shepherds Community Cafe.
The coffee shop is located inside Community State Bank and opened in 2017. Shepherds Community Cafe is almost entirely staffed by part-time employees and interns from Shepherds College. All the drinks and baked goods, which are made by Shepherds College culinary students, are free. The cafe is funded by donations from the community.
"Majority of the donations are going to Shepherds College. We use a portion of the donations to pay for any of the supply costs and everything else goes back to Shepherds College," Eloissa Heigl, the media and communications director at Community State Bank, said.
Ahrens used to be an employee at the cafe. Now, she visits the coffee shop a few times a week to grab a drink and see her friends.
“Theres some days I just come over, and I’m like I need a Brianna hug, and I get one," Ahrens said.
Brianna Behringer is one of Rachel's closest friends. Brianna has been working at the cafe since 2022 and graduated from Shepherds in 2021.
“I like making the drinks and being around the people and the atmosphere is fun," Behringer said.
Shepherds Community Cafe is a testament to the town's commitment to Shepherds College's mission. The idea for the cafe was brought up in a board meeting. Community leaders specifically wanted a way to partner with the school, so they built an entire cafe to give students and alumni work experience.
"(Shepherds Community Cafe is) really a community hub. It connects the students from Shepherds College to the community. It connects the students to our bank staff at Community State Bank. People can stop in and use one of our two meeting rooms for community groups," Heigl said.
Shepherds College
To finish our tour of Union Grove, Rachel took us to the place that inspired this community effort, Shepherds College. It's Rachel's favorite place in town.
"Because this is where it all began for me," she said.
It's where she made lifelong friends, gained invaluable educational experiences, helped her get multiple jobs after school, and taught her to be independent.
“I owe the utmost gratitude to Shepherds for everything," Ahrens said. “I didn’t think I would get hired right outside of college and I did.”
About 85 students are enrolled at Shepherd’s College from around the country and the world. First-year students live in the dorms and second and third years live in on-campus apartments. Tuition costs $62,600 for the 23/24 school year.
Ahrens wanted us to meet one of her favorite people from school, Sarah Kolkman.
“Most of our lives is as an adult, and we’re employed, and were living independently, and so we want to provide the same opportunity for our students," Kolkman, director of curriculum and online instruction, said.
In the first year, students get to try three programs: horticulture, culinary arts, and technology. During that trial period, they are assessed based on their strengths and interests. Afterward, they pick their major and spend the next two years studying that field. Most classes have a roughly eight-to-one student-teacher ratio. Classes include instructors and paraprofessionals.
The entire goal of the school is to give these students opportunities for higher education, so they can find gainful employment after graduation. There aren't many programs for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities after high school. Shepherds College is filling in that gap and making it easier for them to get a job.
“So it helps break down that barrier of I’m not sure if I want to hire someone who has an intellectual or developmental disability because I’m not sure if they can keep up with industry pace. Or I’m not sure they can do the job. But when they have one of our students come in as an intern, and they can see them work, and they can interact with them, that really opens up doors. And a lot of our students have found employment based on internships that they have had.”
One Last Question
As is tradition, the last word is always given to the tour guide of the My Block story.
Before that happens, though, here is how you can be part of the series. Reach out to James Groh to nominate your neighborhood or a neighbor to be featured in the next story. You can fill out this submission form or contact him at james.groh@tmj4.com or call/text him at (414) 254-8145. The series covers all types of neighborhoods and communities. Previous examples include how rural areas foster neighborhoods, how one woman is keeping a watchful eye on her neighborhood, how Hmong culture in Wisconsin is changing, how Latino immigrants adapt to life in Milwaukee, and many more. Watch more My Block stories here.
Now, back to the person who showed us all around town, Rachel Ahrens.
“Is there anything else you’d like to say about your community?”
“You’ve heard from some of the best people here today that Union Grove is one of the best places to live. I love it, and so many other people love it as well. And now you don’t have to take my word for it," she said.
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