A new program through the Vail School District is giving students with special needs a hands-on education to prepare them for life beyond high school.

The THRIVE program pairs students with local businesses, where they gain employment skills and real-world experience.

At Four Arrows Garden Center in Vail, students learn everything from merchandising plants to watering and pruning.

For THRIVE student Marina McBrady, the greenhouse has become a place to discover her strengths.

At the garden, I usually like to pot stuff, she said. Its fun, thats my specialty. And also water plants.

Marina says she hopes to enter a career that involves caring for animals and wants to find her own place in a community home sometime next year.

Program coordinator Kendra Davis said the experience helps stud

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