I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving and/or fall holiday break!! This November and December, we are going to highlight Post-Secondary Education and related experiences. We will kick-off with a re-share of our very own Bridget Brown’s experience at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in a new inclusive program titled, the Co-Op program, under the Disability Studies College. If you loved any of the stories, feel free to comment on this post and share below. If you or someone you know is doing anything related to self-advocacy or wants to share their story, please let us know! We are also sharing our blogs on our Twitter @FamilyMattersIL- so your story could also be shared there! Now sit back, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and learn more about Bridget’s college experience!
Warmly,
Megan
Hello again
I hope you are having a fun Fall so far. Wow, can’t believe that 2022 is flying by. I love fall!
My last blog was an interview with my friends Kelly & Karen Neville. I learned so much about their life, and their business “Special Sparkle”. I hope you enjoyed reading about them.
Today, I thought I would give you an update about my new college experience. Maybe some of you are thinking about a post- secondary college experience or some of you might already be in college. I am excited that some of you might be considering college for your future.
I went to College of DuPage for a number of years. That is my local community college. They have lots of exciting classes there but I was hoping for something more inclusive. I also did a summer college program during Covid at John Wood Community College online. That was fun!
So you might be wondering what is my college experience like now. I currently am a student at UIC (University of Illinois CHICAGO). I am in a new inclusive program called the CO-OP program, under the Disability Studies College. This program just started up and it is very exciting.
I also have an internship in the School of Nursing at UIC.
I started last Spring and my first class was called Radical Inclusion. This was a perfect class for me because I am an inclusion advocate and it gave me information about the history of inclusion so I know how to be a better advocate for people with disabilities. It was very interesting.
I also took a class called Career building. This was to help me prepare to get an internship and employment. I learned how to make a cover page and learned the difference between formal vs informal questions. I also learned how to get a paid internship. Because of this class I now have a paid internship at the nursing simulation lab in the nursing department at UIC.
During that time, I even made friends because I worked with a team of my peers who were also in the CO-OP program. Being part of this class I learned the importance of being professional in my relationships.
Now this Fall I am studying Disability in American film. I am learning how people with disabilities are portrayed in movies and how that describes their life to people. That can be positive or negative. I am learning that it is important to hear real voices of people with disabilities so they can share their stories about their lives.
I love my internship at the Nursing department. I have an internship working in the simulation lab. I am also an actress and I work as a patient with a disability so the students can learn about how to work with individuals with disabilities in a health care setting. It is very exciting and a new program for the nursing department. I love it!
For me college life is wonderful! Being part of a college and being included in general education classes is great. I love working in a team with other students who are also in the program and some who are general college students. I am looking forward to getting to know more students and professionals. I just love being a student at UIC and working in the nursing department.
Life as a student is different but I am learning the ropes of being safe and using self-determination by speaking up for myself and for helping others out. I also learned that classmates are very kind, respectful and that I can trust them.
I hope you enjoyed my thoughts about my college experience. If you are thinking about college, I encourage you to check it out and see what is available in your area and throughout the country. There are lots of great programs! I am available to share my experience with you so if you are interested you can contact me and we can talk more about my experience.
Have a great October (November!) and dwell in the possibilities!!
Bridget Brown
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