Third-Year DO-IT Scholars Offer Advice to New Participants

Sheryl Burgstahler, DO-IT Director

Each summer, the DO-IT Scholars program hosts 45 high school and college students with disabilities on the UW campus, where they learn about technology, self-advocacy, college-preparation, and disability culture. During the 2018 Summer Study, third-year students offered advice to incoming Scholars. Some highlights include the following:

  • 鈥淲e are all in the same boat. My visual impairment is different from a mobility impairment, but there鈥檚 a reason that we are in this program together. We all have a disability, and we should stick together to build a better community.鈥
  • 鈥淎lways ask questions. There鈥檚 no such thing as a dumb question. And if you鈥檙e not sure about something, give it a try.鈥
  • 鈥淚 struggled a lot and I wouldn鈥檛 ask for help, because I was determined to do it myself. I thought asking for help would be embarrassing, but it wasn鈥檛. Feel comfortable asking for help.鈥
  • Phase I Scholar Torin wears a headset to use a voice-to-text program.
    鈥淭ry the different types of technology that you received from DO-IT and those you will see during Summer Study. Before Summer Study two years ago, I had no idea about Audio Notetaker or the PDF-to-Word converter service, both of which听make things more accessible for me.鈥
  • 鈥淚t鈥檚 normal to miss home. At first, I missed home a lot, and there were moments where I would be sad. But there were also points where I was thinking 鈥業 can鈥檛 wait to show them this! This is so cool.鈥 So, I learned to look at the positive and look at your glass as half full.鈥
  • 鈥淏e kind. Nobody is just like you, so be open to getting to know new people and try new perspectives, because you might learn something new or find a more efficient method.鈥

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