Unmatched Support
Personalized guidance that facilitates student success.
The Achieve Program at Villa Maria College is a comprehensive support program designed for students with learning differences. As the only program of its kind in Western New York, Achieve provides personalized support to students with learning differences. Students benefit from targeted academic support, career preparation, and student empowerment.
Achieve isn’t just about academic accommodation. It’s a holistic, personalized support system that strengthens how students learn, communicate, manage responsibilities, and prepare for future careers. The program provides structured, personalized support that goes beyond traditional disability services, helping students build confidence, independence, and real-world career readiness.
For more than 10 years, the program has helped students build independence, self-advocacy skills, and confidence — while fully participating in college life.
Academic Support
Villa’s Achieve Program delivers highly personalized support by combining academic skill-building with individualized guidance and a team-based approach to student success. Students benefit from priority registration, weekly group learning sessions, and one-on-one personalized coaching meetings that focus on strengthening reading, writing, note-taking, and study skills. Through access to assistive technology, a dedicated academic study center, and targeted tutoring services, students receive the support they need to thrive in an environment that allows them to feel connected, guided, and confident every step of the way. The program’s coordinated support model includes regular communication with faculty, multiple progress updates, and proactive advising, ensuring that each student’s learning pathway is intentionally designed to maximize support and promote academic confidence and independence. Plus, Achieve’s team-based approach allows staff to communicate with faculty and a student’s home support system to ensure they receive holistic support throughout their academic journey and into their career.
Career Readiness
Career Planning Achieve prepares students for life after graduation through comprehensive, hands-on career readiness support. Students begin their career planning process during their first semester on campus. They’ll work with the program’s dedicated Career Planning Specialist to identify career options so they can spend the next four years gaining the experience they’ll need to enter their chosen field.
On-Campus Internships: Achieve students will complete two paid internships right on Villa’s small and friendly campus. Students work with various departments, including admissions, communications, development, the business office, and more. Each student has their own supervisor and a weekly, three-hour shift. Students are expected to arrive on time, dress professionally, and complete any assigned tasks. This system allows Achieve students to focus on developing the skills and competencies that are necessary for professional success. Notably, 100% of eligible students have completed off-campus internships, demonstrating the program’s strong commitment to real-world career success.
Off-Campus Internships: Upon completion of their two on-campus internships, Achieve students work with the College’s Career Services Office to obtain an off-campus internship that aligns with their career goals.
Career Preparation: Achieve students have access to expert assistance in building résumés, writing cover letters, and navigating the job search process. Students also receive financial literacy training and guidance on workplace accommodations to help them transition confidently into professional environments. Achieve students have worked with some notable businesses throughout Western New York, including Sheas, the Boys and Girls Club of Buffalo, Sodexo, and more.
Student Empowerment
Villa’s Achieve Program supports students in developing the essential life and leadership skills that lead to long-term academic, personal, and professional success. Through focused development of executive functioning, self-advocacy, and self-understanding, students learn to manage time, set goals, and take ownership of their learning. The program guides students through the critical transition from high school to college and career by building confidence in navigating campus life, interacting with faculty and peers, and adjusting to new expectations. Students also strengthen social interaction skills, problem-solving abilities, and resilience as they learn to overcome obstacles. Signature experiences such as the Achieve Kick-Off, End-of-the-Year Celebration, and character awards recognize growth, foster community, and celebrate each student’s progress and achievements.
Our Approach
Student Centered. Holistic. Collaborative.
Student Centered: Like all of Villa, Achieve is deeply student-centered. The program was designed to assess and meet the individual needs, strengths, and potential of each student. Beginning on day one, students will work with Achieve staff to create an academic success plan that is tailored to guide their personal academic, personal, and professional growth.
Holistic: The Achieve Program takes a truly holistic approach to student success, supporting the whole student — academically, socially, emotionally, and professionally. Rather than focusing on grades alone, the program helps students build essential life skills such as executive functioning, self-advocacy, and problem solving, while also strengthening confidence, independence, and resilience. Through personalized coaching, academic skill development, career preparation, and community-building experiences, Achieve ensures students receive integrated support that prepares them not just for college, but for life beyond it.
Collaborative: The Achieve Program operates with a team-based approach. Staff communicate regularly with students, faculty, and the home support system. This collaborative approach maximizes each student’s opportunity for success by surrounding them with an aligned network of support. Through regular communication, shared progress updates, and intentional partnerships across campus, the program ensures that no student works in isolation — instead, they benefit from a connected team that reinforces accountability, consistency, and encouragement, helping them stay on track and reach their full potential.
Program History
Since 2015, Villa’s Achieve Program has supported students with learning differences as they pursue a college degree.
Over 10 years ago, we recognized that some of our students with learning differences were struggling to adjust to college life. They received a high level of support in high school, and that changed significantly as they began their journey into higher education.
Villa’s Achieve Program was created to bridge the gap between high school support and the demands of college life.
While all colleges and universities are required to provide basic accommodations to students with learning differences, the services Achieve provides go far beyond standard disability accommodations. Achieve offers individualized academic coaching, executive-function skill development, assistive technology, and personalized career-readiness support to help students transition into college and later into their careers.
The Achieve Program remains the only comprehensive collegiate support program in Western New York. By providing this enhanced layer of support, Achieve aims to foster independence, confidence, and long-term success for students who learn differently.
