The program welcomed college-bound high school students with disabilities to learn, have fun and prepare for the college transition.
Thanks to a grant from the Illinois Community College Board, 20 college-bound high school students with disabilities experienced a life-changing week on NIU’s campus this summer. The students in the Huskies BELONG program met with NIU faculty and students, experienced hands-on science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) projects, learned about STEAM career fields and got a taste of the college experience. The program was a collaboration between Associate Professor of Rehabilitation Counseling Bryan Dallas in the College of Health and Human Sciences and NIU STEAM in the Division of Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development. Dallas oversaw the program, and NIU STEAM Educator Becky Griffith was the lead instructor planning and guiding students through daily STEAM learning activities. Students from NIU’s Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling program worked as camp counselors, helping to support the high schoolers and gain valuable work experience.
“I was hesitant at first because I haven’t had this type of opportunity before,” says Owen Chaidez, a participant who is now entering his senior year at Downers Grove South High School. “This was the first time I was able to go out on my own and experience what college would be like. I gained experience advocating for myself and working with personal care attendants, and I learned I can live on my own and go to college. I am glad I did it and I would encourage other kids to give it a chance. It was a great experience.”
Though the week of camp is over, Huskies BELONG is just getting started for these rising high school seniors. Over the following year, the students will continue to meet online with NIU mentors and their peers from the program for assistance selecting and applying for colleges, completing financial aid documents, and arranging personal care attendants and disability accommodations.
Huskies BELONG is the culmination of a decade of planning and work on the part of Dallas, who has had the goal of gaining external funding for a college-prep program serving these students since he came to NIU ten years ago.
“Individuals with disabilities are underrepresented in the workforce, particularly in STEM (science, technology, engineering or math) career fields,” Dallas says.
He sees support with the transition to college as one key piece in helping individuals with disabilities successfully attend college and move into the workforce.
“Transitioning into college is a challenge for all of us, but if you need additional supports that a general population of students might not need, that can add more stress to the process,” he says. “College students with disabilities have to take charge of many of the supports that were previously provided by their family or school district, including requesting accommodations from faculty, hiring and scheduling personal care attendants to help with activities of daily living, managing their schedules and organizing accessible transportation. The experience of camp helps students gain practice with self-advocacy and prepares them for success in college.”
Margaret Chaidez, mother of Huskies BELONG camper Owen, says the camp gave a boost of confidence to both Owen and his family.
“This camp was the first time Owen was away from home for more than a night,” she says. “Prior to the camp, we weren’t sure Owen was ready to go away to college and live independently. Owen had to learn to work with new personal care attendants and explain the level of support he needs each day. He had to figure out what to do if someone was late or not available to assist him. The camp experience showed Owen that he can go away to college and be fully supported. He was so busy with activities and hanging out with new friends that he rarely checked in with us.”
During their week on campus, students had a full schedule of academic, therapeutic and social activities to keep them busy. They learned about careers and engaged in hands-on-learning projects with faculty from the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the NIU Libraries. They met with staff from NIU Career Services and disability support professionals to explore career possibilities and assistive technology. They experienced therapeutic horseback riding and animal encounters. And they engaged in fun, hands-on learning activities with Griffith and the NIU STEAM staff, such as programming Sphero robots, using Python to code in Minecraft Education Edition and 3D printing. In the evenings, the campers played games in the NIU Esports Arena, tie dyed t-shirts and had free time in the NIU Recreation Center.
“My favorite part of the camp was connecting with people I wouldn’t normally meet and seeing we have a lot of commonalities we didn’t expect,” says Owen Chaidez. “I was the only camper with a physical disability. It didn’t matter, we all just hung out and had fun. We play the same video games, and we all share the same sense of humor. I made friends with people from Libertyville, Barrington, Glen Ellyn and Lombard. It felt good to be in a place where I was seen as a person first rather than my disability.”
Lead instructor Becky Griffith says the week at camp was an amazing opportunity to get to know all of the participants in the Huskies Belong program. “We created a strong community within our short week together where I observed advocacy, autonomy, empathy and creativity. I look forward to providing more accessible STEAM programming with Dr. Dallas and the program.”
So, what’s next for Chaidez and his fellow campers, as well as for Dallas and the Huskies BELONG team?
The Huskies BELONG campers are busy preparing for their college applications – some to NIU and some to other four-year universities or their local community college.
Chaidez says, “This is my Senior Year and I plan to finish strong and push myself. I am planning to attend the University of Illinois Champaign to study Marine Biology/Zoology or Animal Sciences. I think having the extra support and experience from the Huskies staff will be helpful with college applications. I feel more confident knowing I have additional support as I look beyond camp and beyond high school.”
Dallas is preparing to apply for funding once again to continue the program with a new cohort next year – and he’s excited to bring back the current cohort to serve as peer mentors to the new campers. He’s also planning to follow the students’ progress over the next several years to assess the program’s long-term impact.
“We’re assessing, do students that go through an experience like this have more confidence about their ability to succeed in college?” he says. “Are they more likely to enroll in college, and are they more likely to choose a STEM field? Are they staying in college, then graduating? And what does their early career look like? This sort of data can be challenging to gather, but it’s vital to understanding how to achieve the end goal of student retention and graduation, then employment.”
“This is the best program I’ve ever worked on,” Dallas adds. “It was a great collaboration among different diverse groups on campus and internal and external partners. I was very happy with how well things went and can’t wait to run the program again next year.”
To learn more about the Huskies BELONG program, contact Bryan Dallas at bdallas@niu.edu. Other faculty interested in collaborating on grant-funded projects involving K-16 students should reach out to Amy Jo Clemens, assistant vice president of the Division of Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development at ajclemens@niu.edu.
Source: NIU Today CHHS News
