STUDENTS

choice to round out their college experience.

Each student receives help plotting their schedule, which includes time for homework, exercise at the campus recreation center and responsibilities in their apartment. And the O ce of Inclusive Services pairs them with another undergraduate student who acts as a peer mentor to help them get to class, nish homework, go to social events and tackle chores at home.

e o ce also swoops in if students start falling behind in class, teaches them budgeting skills and o ers a driver’s education program through which four students have secured a driver’s license.

“ e growth is amazing,” said Christi Kasa, a professor in the College of Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning. “Students learn to have a voice in their life, and that is the biggest di erence we see, is they learn to direct their life and talk about what they want their life to be like. And that’s what we want. People need support in whatever way they need it. We want students to be as independent as they can, but more importantly we want them to have the autonomy to say, ‘ is is what I want my life to look like,’ and then ask for help to get there.”

CSU has a history of educating students who have a learning disability or who need special accommodations and is branching out to speci cally incorporate students with intellectual disabilities on campus. e Fort Collins campus this spring debuted a pilot program with a cohort of three students — called Ram scholars — all interested in studying agricultural sciences, whether they want to learn about growing crops and plants or caring for animals. e program, which has carried into the summer with an agricultural internship for six students, began with funding from Larimer County toward developing a workforce innovation program for people with intellectual disabilities, said Deborah Fidler, a professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies under CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences, which is running the program with the College of Agricultural Sciences. e program’s initial emphasis on agricultural sciences lls a regional workforce demand while also aligning with the interests of many students with disabilities, said Fidler, who also serves as the director of the intellectual and developmental disabilities division of CSU’s Prevention Research Center.

With state grant funding, CSU will continue building the program over the next ve years, during which Fidler said the university will establish a more meaningful credential for students and likely broaden its focus to other elds in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“We also know that agricultural education is really unique in that it has a strong experiential learning component to it,” she said. “ ere’s so much of the learning process (that) happens in the real world setting where employment would actually take place.” e recent UNC graduate struggles with vision problems when reading and had seizures as a newborn but grew out of them — all symptoms of her genetic disease, which also a ects her mom. And Murphy sometimes needs help with walking or she struggles with balance.

She has seen inclusive higher education shape CSU students who step into the role of peer mentor as much as the program has impacted those with an intellectual disability.

“It was clear that these were students who were now going to be considering their career pathways a little di erently and recognizing that even if they don’t necessarily move towards a career in inclusive education, and maybe that’s not necessarily their outcome, that they will be employees in the workforce who are going to be much more inclusive in their practices,” Fidler said.

Murphy, the paraprofessional in Grand Junction, now shepherds high school students attending Central High School from school buses to the cafeteria to eat breakfast, escorts them to their classroom and makes sure they’re prepared to dive into the school day. She also helps them use the bathroom and sometimes shadows individual students in class to provide one-on-one support.

Murphy, who said she has an “invisible disability,” previously spent two years at Colorado Mesa University while pursuing a vocational program for adults ages 18 to 21 with disabilities and graduated a year early when she was 20. She transferred to UNC in Greeley, picking up her life and plopping it down ve hours away to begin her freshman year. She rst set out to study acting, directing and theater — a passion stemming from her childhood — but shifted to a major in human services toward the end of her rst semester when an instructor spelled out her strength in helping others.

Murphy has mostly fond memories of her years in college, when she devoted a lot of time to a Catholic campus ministry group apart from her classes. College, she said, enabled her to land in a career in which she can mentor students while also earning a better wage that will soon hopefully give her the footing to move out of her parents’ house.

“It just like helped me experience what everyone else experiences,” she said, “but like not in the traditional way.” is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media. value of installation, custom installation charges, equipment upgrades/add-ons, and certain other add’l fees & chrgs. See directv.com/directv-fees/ for additional information. $10/MO. AUTOPAY AND PAPERLESS BILL DISCOUNT: Must enroll in autopay & paperless bill within 30 days of TV activation to receive bill credit starting in 1-3 bill cycles (pay $10 more/mo. until discount begins). Must maintain autopay/paperless bill and valid email address to continue credits. DIRECTV SVC TERMS: Subject to Equipment Lease & Customer Agreements. All o ers, packages, programming, promotions, features, terms, restrictions and conditions and all prices and fees not included in price guarantee are subject to change without notice. Package, Advanced Receiver Service Fee, Regional Sports Fee (varies by zip code) and equipment fees for TV connections are included in two-year price guarantee. Taxes, surcharges, add-on programming (including premium channels), protection plan, transactional fees, and Federal Cost Recovery Fee are not included in two-year price guarantee. Some o ers may not be available through all channels and in select areas. Di erent o ers may apply for eligible multi-dwelling unit. Visit directv.com/legal/ or call for details. Access HBO Max through HBO Max app or hbomax.com with your DIRECTV log-in credentials. Visit directv.com to verify/create your account. Use of HBO Max is subject to its own terms and conditions, see hbomax.com/terms-of-use for details. Programming and content subj. to change. Requires account to stay in good standing. Upon cancellation of your video service you may lose access to HBO Max.