The University of Kentucky Human Development Institute in partnership with the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation present the Summer Leadership Experience (SLE) Camp. The camp takes place each summer, typically in July. Kentucky high school upperclassmen (rising juniors, rising seniors, and current seniors) with disabilities are welcome to apply. Camp takes place on the University of Kentucky campus and includes a four-night stay in a campus residence hall (meals and snacks included), skill building sessions on subjects like self-advocacy, and interactive sessions about continuing education and career planning. Informational sessions inform campers about resources that are available to help them take steps to reach their educational and career goals with confidence and success. Camp applicants are encouraged to become clients with the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) as OVR counselors approve campers to attend this all-paid for camp. Registration is available online in March.
For more information, call 859-257-1714 or email Teresa Belluscio at Teresa.Belluscio@uky.edu.
Read more about the Summer Leadership Experience Camp
Glen Jennings – HDI Communications
What comes next after you graduate high school?
When students toss their caps in the air, a whole new world opens up and they’re faced with a number of new choices that could have a profound effect on their future. Choices like that are hard to make. How do you further your education? Do you go straight into the workforce? It’s difficult for everyone, with added stresses for students with disabilities.
But the UK Human Development Institute’s Summer Leadership Experience Camp exists to help make those decisions a little less scary and make it easier to adjust to that next step in the educational process which could lead to a career. The camp invites speakers who can help young adults find the right choice for the next stage in their lives and how to take advantage of accessibility resources available – and how to push beyond challenges like getting academic accommodations and dealing with social stigma.
Camp speakers have included perennial favorite Cody Clark, an autistic magician who does a special magic show one day, followed by a talk on resilience, a college disability services panel that discusses how to access vital accommodations, support, and resources, and Travis Freeman, a Kentucky pastor who, in high school, became the first blind football player in America and was the inspiration for the film 23 Blast.
Campers visited the UK Esports Lounge, relaxed at campus bookstores, and much more.
The camp is a powerful experience, giving them the opportunity to see a potentially great future for themselves.
After engaging in Cody Clark’s session on reliable resilience, one camper explained “It was like I was looking at myself from the outside.” Campers connect with speakers with disabilities who are both motivational and inspiring.