Courtney Meyer
The transition to college can be intimidating, confusing, and demanding as students forge new identities and friendships and explore their intellectual interests. For students with a mobility disability, activities such as traversing a campus to locate a class, navigating a dining hall, or living independently can also pose challenges.
For two days in July, seven teenagers between the ages of fourteen and nineteen visited the campus of Michigan State University with dreams of college in their minds, unsure whether or not, given their physical limitations, the experience would be feasible. Participating in an inaugural program called Project Venture established by the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities and funded by the Hal and Phyllis Wochholz Endowment for Persons with Disabilities, the students learned concrete ways to self-advocate and communicate their needs in a collegiate setting. As a proud and successful 1958 graduate of the College of Engineering grateful for the assistance and accommodation he himself had received many years ago, Hal Wochholz established the Hal and Phyllis Wochholz Endowment for Persons with Disabilities, marketing MSU's exceptional and sustained record in meeting the needs of persons with disabilities. Project Venture showcased the resources and support that universities like MSU can provide for any student to receive additional education and pursue their dreams. Reflecting the importance of a connection between former and future students to empower youth with disabilities, RCPD Director Michael Hudson remarks, "I am touched when alumni like Hal and Phyllis Wochholz reach back to share their life success with tomorrow's leaders. Seeing how others use education to overcome life obstacles tends to raise the bar on each of us. Venture surrounded each participant with a caring yet challenging call to achieve."
[Project Venture participants gain an invaluable skill during a game of The Amazing Race: Campus map reading.]
Beyond living in a residence hall and learning about collegiate academic expectations from a professor, the students learned about the importance of awareness, communication, and self-advocacy in establishing their objectives. While primary and secondary education students are entitled to assistance under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, those who enter a university setting or a workplace must actively seek to meet their needs under the framework of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination in accommodation and services. To internalize the advice they had received, which ranged from types of assistive technology they could rely on to expanding their high self-expectations, the students kept journals, and at the close of the program, participated in a panel presentation in front of their parents to explain their options and resources.
Reflections about the experience were enlightened and empowered. One participant shared that they were "more confident about advocating for myself. I know what I need to do and how to achieve it." Another said the program was "a good thing to do if you're nervous about college or how your disability will affect your experience there...Yes, it will be hard, academically and otherwise, but definitely not impossible and can be a unique and wonderful experience."
[The students experience another perk of collegiate life: The MSU Dairy Store.]