HDI Speakers Featured at Post-Secondary Education Workshop in Louisville

On Thursday, October 11,  HDI’s Teresa Belluscio and her two STEPS students, Emma Keyser and Brooke Wray, co-presented at a “Build Your Future” workshop at the McDowell Center in Louisville. The McDowell Center holds the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) and Kentucky Office for the Blind (OFB) Offices. The workshop was sponsored by the Center for Independent Living.

The speakers shared tips on choosing a college, how the disability resource center on campus can help, and being successful in college. They also discussed options for students with intellectual disabilities, and Emma and Brooke participated on the panel of current college students.

“It was good experience to go and talk to students that might go to college.” — Brooke Wray

“I think it was wonderful to see students and parents being involved in their students lives and their futures. It was also a good experience because we got to explain to them about our experiences in college.” —Emma Keyser

The STEPS program is our Supported Training Experience Post-Secondary program Fund for Excellence research study. Students in the study are high school graduates who have entered their first semester in college this fall. STEPS students have attended leadership camp, have been peer mentors, and continue to learn about skill sets that help them build success as college students.

Teresa is currently a Disability Program Specialist and the Supported Training Experiences Post Secondary (STEPS) Coordinator with University of Kentucky’s Human Development Institute and formerly Director of the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (OSID) at Eastern Kentucky University.  She has 20 years experience helping college students with all types of disabilities, including physical and intellectual, reach their academic and career goals.

Photo by Kari Jones

Latest Updates

Photo of Wellness event participants standing in a circle

HDI Wellness Event is a great success!

Dr. Nicholas Lamar Wright always planned on recruiting help to make the One Mile Wellness event a success, but he …

Photo of Preston and Lane Lewis

Tribute to Preston Lewis, Advocate and Educator by Dr. Harold Kleinert

Our state lost an amazing advocate and educator with the recent passing of Preston Lewis on October 20 of this …

Photo of the garden featuring a smiling Kathy Sheppard-Jones

HDI Sensory Garden Blooms

Nancy Savage had been walking by a mostly empty planter box in front of the Mineral Industries Building a while …