Patrick Carney didn't know what to write on his holiday card for troops in Iraq. But his teacher, Teri Lindner, encouraged him to keep trying.

Soon, Patrick Carney, 19, came up with a message: "Thank you for saving our lives."

When Lindner checked his work, she smiled.

"That's very nice," she said. "Don't underestimate what you can do."

Carney, a Life Link student with an intellectual disability, and his teacher Lindner participate in Life Link PSU, a State College Area High School program based in the HUB-Robeson Center for students with disabilities. Lindner founded the program in 2001 in partnership with the College of Education.

The program helps students with conditions ranging from autism to Down syndrome to mild learning disabilities. They develop educational, socialization and independence skills with students their own age, Lindner said.

Under federal law, students with disabilities are entitled to seven years of high school education, she said. Weekdays, the Life Link students attend Penn State classes, do homework and play games like Catch Phrase and Apples to Apples.

"They're real games college kids would play," Lindner said. "But without the alcohol."

Carney and his classmates also take classes with Penn State students. Overall, the Life Link students are received extremely well, she said.

In addition to working at Wegmans, Carney takes three courses. In criminology, he's learning about different types of crimes like theft and murder. He's picked up some time management tips in Coping with College.

"They'll help with my GPA," he said.

But Carney's favorite course is basketball. His likes to be point-guard and he's pretty good at grabbing re-bounds, he said.

Carney attends class with the Life Link mentors, who are Penn State student volunteers. Mentors often form friendships with the students, Lindner said.

Marcus Green (junior-broadcast journalism) mentored Life Link students for two years and continues to come back, even though he's already fulfilled his volunteer requirement.

"They're a much bigger blessing to me than I am to them," Green said. "I'm thankful for the lessons they've taught me. They have to work 10 times as hard as us, and they're still two steps behind."

One such inspiration is Adam Ilgen, 20, a student whom Green mentors. Ilgen came to Life Link homeless and without a job.

"Teri really helped me pull things together," Ilgen said. "Now I have an apartment and budget my money."

Green recalls last year when Ilgen would work out in the White Building and then walk across campus to his class in the Forum.

"He would sit in the front and ask the most questions out of anyone in the class," Green said. "And it probably might not even go on a transcript for him."

Some Life Link students will go on to different college programs, a reason Carney chose Life Link.

"Patrick always wanted to go to college," Kathy Carney, Patrick's mom, said. "I quit my job, and I came up here and found a place to live. My goal for him is to become more independent and to learn the skills he needs to live on his own."

With Thanksgiving approaching, Kathy reflected on her first fall in State College with her son. While Kathy Carney and her son miss their family in Chester County, they are happy with the move.

"I'm really grateful and thankful for the teachers," she said. "They've just bent over backward to help Patrick."

As for Patrick Carney, Lindner said he "is really beginning to thrive at Penn State," particularly with making new friends and adapting to the campus.

In many ways, the staff learns from the students. Josh Watson (senior-recreation, parks and tourism management) is a Life Link mentor and U.S. Army veteran who returned from serving overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2006.

He received a card while in the service, just like the one Patrick Carney wrote.

"It made us aware that people cared," he said.