The Latest: Spring Has Sprung 🍀

👋 Welcome to the March edition of The Latest, where we hope the wind is at your back and good luck always stays with you. 🍀

🌷 Spring Is For… Progress Over Perfection

As you may know, I have been writing a non-academic book about disability and accessibility. This year’s manifestation vision: Bring my book to fruition!

• Writing a book is a daunting, humbling, and cathartic experience. It is also a lesson in celebrating our wins and focusing on progress over perfection. 

Good news! The draft book manuscript is complete and heading into editing and production. 

• What helped immensely? Working with a book coach (Mei Mei Fox and her book-coaching cohort!) and a publishing team (Megan Williams and the good people at TSPA!). 

Up next: Revision, design, publishing, and launch-planning — always with a crew of incredibly talented people. 

• I am ever grateful. Absolutely can’t wait to share this work with you! 

🌱 New National College Accessibility Survey! 

There’s nothing like watching seedlings grow! That’s this season here at the National Disability Center for Student Success. 

• Just launched: The College Accessibility Survey is a cornerstone activity of the Center’s first year! We seek to understand the experiences of students in technical training programs, 2-year, and 4-year colleges across the US.

This survey was built with and for students, both with and without disabilities. By bringing in the questions and lived experiences of students, we strive for an authentic, holistic approach.

• Please share with the students in your life. There is a chance to win one of fifty $50 gift cards after completion. We even built a survey-sharing toolkit just for you, full of flyers, images, and ways to share with your networks.

The survey is open until April 15th, then stay tuned for our findings!

📣 Building Community with Our First Townhall!

• Spring is also about pushing out of my comfort zone and into the spotlight.

The National Disability Center is hosting its first online Townhall, a chance to meet and get to know each other as we work towards equity and opportunity for all students. 

We will share data that is hot off the press, learn from faculty and students, and share a sneak peek into upcoming Center events. 

• Save the date! It will be April 25 at 3 pm Central time. Registration coming soon!

🎓 Graduation is Upon Us

• Spring is a time when we celebrate student success. 

Mentoring graduate students is a long, in-depth, and extremely rewarding process. These bonds last a lifetime! 

I have not one, but TWO amazing young people receiving their doctoral diplomas this spring. Introducing…

• Dr. Claire E. Ryan. Claire is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin. Her award-winning dissertation project focused on mental health issues in deaf children. 

• Dr. Ana G. Vielma. Ana is a first generation scholar and advocate who created and implemented an innovative community-first research initiative to support first gen students. 

I cannot wait to be with them at commencement and to celebrate all of their achievements.

🎤 Media Round-Up

This spring has already been a busy publicity season! Recent media hits include:

• Research impact profile in the Austin American Statesman

• The Making of Deaf Capo at the UT Austin College of Education 

• Exceptional Lives vlog about getting ready for life after high school 

🤝 Let’s Connect IRL

Are you heading to the American Education Research Association 2024 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia on April 11-14? I’ll be there together with a crew of student and faculty colleagues.

• This is an invitation to connect in real life!

The National Disability Center team will be hosting an AERA Meet-Up in conjunction with the UT Austin College of Education reception on April 12. Reply to this email to let us know if you will be at the conference, and we’ll share the details with you!

☺️ And Finally…

It wouldn’t be spring in Austin, Texas, without:

• Bluebonnets! Sunsets! Austin FC! 

And a big smile from closing the laptop, getting out into nature, and working up a sweat. May your spring be filled with such selfie-inspiring moments.