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The City of Norman, OK is planning an indirect potable reuse (IPR) project to augment their water supply. The IPR project involves transferring treated effluent from the Norman Water Reclamation Facility (NWRF) to Dave Blue Creek, which flows into Lake Thunderbird and acts as an environmental buffer. One of the major concerns for IPR projects is the presence of contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) in recycled wastewater. CEC are broadly defined as chemicals that can potentially enter the environment, but that are not routinely monitored and could pose health risks to humans or ecology. The objectives of this thesis research are to analyze baseline CEC concentrations in the lake, evaluate periodic tendencies, compare results to previous CEC studies, and identify probable sources for the detected CEC. Stakeholders can use the results to assess the effectiveness of the environmental buffering, and design necessary advanced water treatment at the NWRF before the IPR project commences. Four water sampling events were completed at Lake Thunderbird in Norman, OK during 2016 and 2017 with each event representing a season. Water samples were collected at six lake sites and analyzed for 113 unique CEC including compounds in four categories: 1) industrials, 2) pesticides, 3) pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP), and 4) “others”. Sub-watersheds were delineated and loading factor models were developed for each sub-watershed to assess potential CEC contributions based on land use, density of domestic wells (as a proxy for density of septic tanks), and density of storage tanks. Eight, 21, 24, and 24 CEC were detected in June 2016, October 2016, January 2017, and April 2017 samples, respectively. The compound NP was detected in fall, winter, and spring, making it the most frequently detected industrial compound. The pesticides atrazine and simazine were detected in every season, most likely because of year-round lawn or agricultural applications. Acesulfame-K (artificial sweetener) and DEET (insect repellant) were also detected in every season, those compound detections could be the result of runoff from residential areas or from recreational use of the lake. CEC are likely derived from seasonally variable sources, such as lawn applications and septic systems. Concentrations of atrazine, simazine, and 2, 4-D detected in Lake Thunderbird are well below EPA established maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for drinking water. Nine other compounds detected in Lake Thunderbird are below non-federal health standards, available from the Minnesota Department of Health, which indicates that Lake Thunderbird water is likely safe for consumption with regard to CEC. Comparison of Lake Thunderbird CEC concentrations to a microcosm study of Norman Water Reclamation Facility (NWRF) effluent in Dave Blue Creek sediment with photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) indicate that the environmental buffering may sufficiently reduce concentrations of CEC before they reach Lake Thunderbird during the planned IPR project. Future investigations should define the half-life and health standards that are presently unavailable for the 113 CEC analyzed in this study. Additional investigation, sampling, and analysis of current NWRF effluent discharge and receiving waters of the Canadian River would be beneficial for documenting environmental buffering effects.

People with disabilities, across all age groups, are much less likely to be employed than those without a disability (Bureau of Statistics, 2017; Mourssi-Asfash, 2013; Erickson, Lee, & von Schrader, 2016). Historically, people with disabilities have been regarded as lesser human beings in the medical and social community. These views are social constructs (ableism and othering) that negatively impact the access to employment and job retention of people with disabilities. However, transition programs (for students with disabilities aged 18–21) in school districts are available to teach individuals with disabilities employment skills to expand employment rates and retention, thus increasing independence and contribution to self and society. One particular transition program has been successful for individuals with disabilities to become employed. This study aims to explore and understand how the program is successfully training individuals with disabilities to improve access to and retention of employment, as well as the drawbacks and next steps of the program. The participants in this case study were parents/guardians of individuals with disabilities who recently graduated from this transition program (in the past 2 years). Parents/guardians were interviewed about their personal experiences with the transition program, focusing in particular on employment training. The findings include: (a) teacher care, advocacy, and emphasizing success; (b) program positives, specifically the employment variety and the skills learned at those jobs and recommendation of the program to upcoming students and parents/guardians based on their employment experiences, support and advocacy from teachers, and genuine care from the teachers and staff from the program; and (c) areas of improvement including more variety and quantity of employment opportunities and communication about information regarding government resources and programming. Recommended improvement strategies for the program include: (a) develop peer support groups for parents/guardians and students; (b) have key people in the program to having a list of resources available to parents from the government agencies; (c) train students and parents/guardians to be better advocates; (d) have tangible copies of frequently asked questions and answers from parents, guardians, and students readily available at IEP meetings; (e) have a vocational rehabilitation service representative at every IEP meeting and, if this is not possible, have information that the representative would like to provide based on the individual's’ needs; (f) create a website with transitional guidelines to adulthood that parents/guardians and students could complete during their time with the transition program; (g) have a representative from the transition program working within the community and surrounding communities to build relationships for future job placements; (h) educate companies and employers about the benefits of hiring individuals with disabilities; and (i) continue the philosophy and culture of care, advocacy, and support for students and parents/guardians through the hiring process and a culture/climate committee. Keywords: transition, transition programs, special education, education, ableism, othering, employment, discrimination, disability, special education law, disability law