ACC’s Kollman Uses Unique Abilities to Empower Students
When a wheelchair at the Anne Carlsen Center (ACC) breaks, when a toy should be adapted to a student’s specific need, or a tool that does not exist needs to be created, Todd Kollman is your man.
Kollman has worked at the Center for about 25 years, sharing his unique skill set with countless students and staff.
What Doesn’t Work
When Kollman goes to work in his workshop at the Center each day, this Adaptive Equipment Specialist has one mantra that he constantly repeats – “Throwing it away doesn’t work here.”
“I do a lot of repair work and sometimes, I make it work the first time,” says Kollman with a laugh. “Sometimes I cross two things to make one thing. Sometimes I use a lot of parts from a lot of different items to make one item.”
As the technology of toys has become more sophisticated, more parts have become part of Kollman’s workshop.
The tasks that come into the workshop are as varied as the people the Center serves. During one two-hour stretch of a November afternoon, Kollman was asked to fix a chair, repair a child-sized table, and create a concept for one student who liked to sit on tile floors and not carpet.
Early Childhood Education Teacher Sharon Olson was one of the staff members who called on Kollman’s expertise that day.
“Todd is a miracle worker,” says Olson plainly. “When students come here for an adapted item, they go home with a finished product. He makes my job so much easier.”
A Team Effort
While Kollman is often lauded for the products he creates, he is quick to point out it is far from a one-person show.
“I call it my A-team – all the people I rely on,” says Kollman. “That is something that you have got to have or everything just doesn’t work.”
The A-team includes a wide variety of staff at the Center. People are involved in each step of the product repair and creation. When someone brings in a broken item, Kollman discusses the item from top to bottom – taking into consideration a wide array of issues including safety measures, dimensions, weight and cleanliness.
Kollman then goes to work crafting or repairing the item. In recent years he has created tools that flip through stacks of paper, roll dice, and transport and spray water.
Each item goes through at least one round of testing, before it is sent to the student or staff who requested it.
“I try and live it, no matter what the item is,” Kollman says. “If it is a chair, I get right into it. I try to simulate using it as much as possible. If it is a deal where a person is tough on things, I build more endurance and padding into it.”
The dedication Kollman shows to the Center and its students isn’t limited to the items he creates.
“When we have tours and we bring in high school or college students or interns, he is always willing to show and demonstrate some of the switches and items he has made,” said Connie Lillejord, ACC’s Director of Rehab Services. “When we talk about safety for the kids, that is always the number one priority for him. He is so dedicated to the kids here. He loves to design and create and he impacts everybody here at the Center – he is a person that works with virtually every department.”
The rewards for a job well done come in a variety of forms at the Anne Carlsen Center. From a thank you to a smile, or to a student simply being able to do something he or she couldn’t before, the Center specializes in giving children, teens and young adults the tools needed to beat the odds and live a life with as much independence as possible.
“You do change people’s lives, and that is a huge part of this job,” says Kollman. “I can’t count the number of lives I’ve impacted – that isn’t a prideful statement, it is a really big deal. But it couldn’t happen without the whole team effort.”
Kollman attributes his projects to his ability to multi-task and remain flexible.
“You never really know what will come in next – whether it will be used inside or outside or where it will come from,” says Kollman. “You need to work your schedule around others and you have to prioritize. There is no such thing as a dumb idea because that idea can be used to spark a new idea. Most importantly, you never believe it can’t be done.”
By doing his job, and doing it well, Kollman is a key ingredient to what makes the Anne Carlsen Center a unique organization that helps people live lives of greater independence.
“This place has always been and is top-notch at producing and changing people’s lives,” says Kollman. “It is a great place. Anybody who needs a little extra help, that person needs to come here and see that the word ‘can’t’ doesn’t exist.”
