More Opportunities for UCF Students with Disabilities

As a proud University of Central Florida (UCF) alumna, I was pleased to read two stories about students with disabilities in the Summer 2019 issue of the alumni magazine Pegasus. The first story describes the first graduating class of UCF's Inclusive Education Services (IES) program. The class consisted of 13 students with intellectual and development disabilities (IDDs), who participated in commencement on May 3. Established in August 2015, IES provides program participants with a curriculum and college experience while earning a professional services credential in hospitality, education, or social services. The intent of the program is to help students with IDDs get a job. For more information about IES, go to https://www.ucf.edu/news/first-class-ucfs-inclusive-education-services-program-graduates/.

UCF's IES graduates

(image via orlandosentinel.com)

The second story features blind triathlete Kyle Coon, who graduated from UCF with a communications degree in 2013. His eyes had to be surgically removed by age seven because he had bilateral sporadic retinoblastoma, a form of eye cancer. Coon, who has sisters, was inspired by a blind extreme athlete and his parents to be physically active. He was unable to get a job after graduation, so he decided to try running and was matched with a guide through the C Different organization. His goal is to compete in the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. The #18 visually impaired triathlete in the world, Coon currently lives at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he exercises by swimming and running or biking every day. He has started competing in qualifying races. For more details on Coon, go to https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/life-without-limits/.

Kyle Coon

(image via twitter.com)

Note: Yvonne Roberts, a 1990 UCF alumna mentioned in Pegasus, is the new chief donor relations officer for Whistlestop (https://whistlestop.org/), an organization that provides services for the independence of people with disabilities as well as older adults in San Rafael, California.