Meet the DO-IT Scholars

[Music]

>> Sheryl Burgstahler: What we're
trying to do in the DO-IT Center

is to help students
with disabilities

be successful in
college and careers,

but also using technology
as an empowering tool.

I founded the DO-IT
program in 1992

with a grant from the
National Science Foundation.

Many of our projects are funded by
the National Science Foundation,

for example, AccessComputing.

We work with computing
faculty nationwide

to help them include students
with disabilities in their programs.

We have a similar project
called AccessEngineering

where we work with
engineering faculty.

Another project that we have is called
AccessISL, Informal Science Learning,

and there we're working with people
that develop museum exhibits,

helping them make them more accessible
to people with disabilities.

The DO-IT Scholars program

is where we work with teens with disabilities,
get them ready for college and careers.

>> Scott Bellman: For the DO-IT Scholars program,
we'd like to start engaging students and families

when they're sophomores in high school.

And that’s very intentional because
we invite them to come and live with us

on the university campus
for three summers

and we like to have
after those experiences occur

after their sophomore year,
after their junior year

and then as they're
graduating high school.

When the DO-IT Scholars
are at summer camp,

they take a lot of classes
and courses with us.

And so some of those are related
to leadership and advocacy.

Some of those are related to
different career fields

that they might
want to learn about

and some of it is related
to college access

and how to advocate for what you
might need in a college environment.

For their third summer
as high school graduates,

many of whom have been
accepted into college,

they work as leaders and mentors
to the younger students.

>> Randy: I was one of the
first DO-IT Scholars.

The mentorship that I had
early on from DO-IT

was sufficient to show me
how to actually mentor people.

And that has specifically influenced my career
because I manage people now.

>> Anita: The DO-IT Scholars program
taught me that I really need to be

willing to advocate for myself.

>> Kayla Brown: I got into the program
when I was a junior in high school

and that was the first time that I met
other people with disabilities who

wanted to go to college, and were
thinking about a career even beyond.

>> Sheryl: I've hired
a lot of people in my life

and I've never hired them
because of what they can't do.

It's always because of
what they can do

and the DO-IT program, these kids
have an opportunity to meet adults

that see their opportunities before them

and figure out how they can
maximize the use of those skills

and interests they have
to be successful.