WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.251 [MUSIC PLAYING] 00:00:01.251 --> 00:00:03.685 DO-IT Scholar Profile: Anita. 00:00:06.470 --> 00:00:09.170 For more than 30 years, the University 00:00:09.170 --> 00:00:12.890 of Washington's Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, 00:00:12.890 --> 00:00:15.900 and Technology Center, also known as DO-IT, 00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:18.680 has hosted programs to promote equal access 00:00:18.680 --> 00:00:21.050 within challenging post-secondary programs 00:00:21.050 --> 00:00:22.290 and careers. 00:00:22.290 --> 00:00:24.780 Some projects work directly with students, 00:00:24.780 --> 00:00:26.580 such as DO-IT Scholars. 00:00:26.580 --> 00:00:29.620 This video features a DO-IT Scholar named Anita. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:40.640 My name is Anita, and I was a DO-IT Scholar in 2014. 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:42.950 Part of why I applied was because my mother thought 00:00:42.950 --> 00:00:45.785 it was a good idea, but then, also it was 00:00:45.785 --> 00:00:48.560 a chance to be in a community of people that 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:52.550 were similar to me, which had been something 00:00:52.550 --> 00:00:55.140 I hadn't experienced a ton of. 00:00:55.140 --> 00:00:59.360 It was essentially a mini college experience 00:00:59.360 --> 00:01:04.190 that I found very appealing, and the social opportunity 00:01:04.190 --> 00:01:08.039 to be with a group of people that was like me. 00:01:08.039 --> 00:01:10.800 So you knew that you're socializing, 00:01:10.800 --> 00:01:13.640 but your disability isn't coming into the picture 00:01:13.640 --> 00:01:17.390 as how you're making friends. 00:01:17.390 --> 00:01:22.850 We had lectures about what we could do for ourselves 00:01:22.850 --> 00:01:25.340 and our future, and advocating for ourselves, 00:01:25.340 --> 00:01:28.130 and learning what we could ask for in college. 00:01:28.130 --> 00:01:31.560 I'm a slow reader. 00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:33.995 I have dyslexia and dysgraphia, and 00:01:33.995 --> 00:01:37.920 I can't read that 25 pages in a single night. 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:43.295 So learning how to take notes, and what software 00:01:43.295 --> 00:01:48.140 I could use to make doing those big assignments easier. 00:01:48.500 --> 00:01:50.660 And then we got to go down to the food court, 00:01:50.660 --> 00:01:52.430 and decide what meal we were going 00:01:52.430 --> 00:01:55.890 to get, and pick our table, and eat with our friends. 00:01:55.890 --> 00:02:00.650 And it was a giant sense of independence when you were like, 00:02:00.650 --> 00:02:04.100 you have a meal card, and you get to go decide from any 00:02:04.100 --> 00:02:05.550 of the 10 options what you're going to eat, 00:02:05.550 --> 00:02:08.660 and then you're going to go find your friends and share a meal. 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:15.350 When I was at DO-IT, I was able to have friendships and build 00:02:15.350 --> 00:02:19.700 friendships that were solely based on my interests 00:02:19.700 --> 00:02:25.040 as a person and not based on my wheelchair 00:02:25.040 --> 00:02:30.133 and how being disabled shaped who I was or what I did. 00:02:30.500 --> 00:02:32.300 I mean, I certainly wouldn't have met the collection 00:02:32.300 --> 00:02:33.660 of people I know now. 00:02:33.660 --> 00:02:38.150 A lot of the people I know from the disability community 00:02:38.150 --> 00:02:43.100 I did meet through DO-IT, or connected to DO-IT in some way. 00:02:43.100 --> 00:02:47.990 It really did show me that, maybe I do want to do college. 00:02:47.990 --> 00:02:53.040 I think I had been very much like, ah, I don't need college. 00:02:53.040 --> 00:02:54.890 I'm fine. 00:02:54.890 --> 00:02:56.640 Who wants to do that? 00:02:56.640 --> 00:02:59.540 I had nearly no interest of college 00:02:59.540 --> 00:03:03.050 prior to my junior year of high school. 00:03:03.500 --> 00:03:07.730 And then I had been very unsure of what 00:03:07.730 --> 00:03:11.100 my success rate at college could be, 00:03:11.100 --> 00:03:13.810 because academics are hard for me. 00:03:13.810 --> 00:03:19.140 The physical terrain of the campus is difficult for me. 00:03:19.140 --> 00:03:22.540 And so I kind of learned what to look for in a college. 00:03:22.540 --> 00:03:27.430 I learned that I could enjoy college, 00:03:27.430 --> 00:03:30.690 and that maybe I did want to do the dorm life, and the roommate, 00:03:30.690 --> 00:03:33.520 and I could make it work. 00:03:33.750 --> 00:03:38.350 DO-IT taught me college was doable, I could be successful, 00:03:38.350 --> 00:03:42.540 and that I could have independence. 00:03:42.540 --> 00:03:44.500 I absolutely love being a teacher, 00:03:44.500 --> 00:03:48.090 and it's all because I went to college 00:03:48.090 --> 00:03:51.220 and felt like I could be successful there. 00:03:51.500 --> 00:03:57.000 I think life without DO-IT and college, [LAUGHS] 00:03:57.000 --> 00:03:59.160 I would be sitting on my mom's couch 00:03:59.160 --> 00:04:04.590 and getting told to get up off the couch. 00:04:04.590 --> 00:04:06.000 I don't know what I would do if 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:09.090 I couldn't do what I do now, because what I do now 00:04:09.090 --> 00:04:10.920 is the best job. 00:04:10.920 --> 00:04:12.040 I love what I do. 00:04:12.040 --> 00:04:13.980 I get to work with kids. 00:04:13.980 --> 00:04:18.329 I learned that I could be a teacher, even though 00:04:18.329 --> 00:04:20.550 I'm in a wheelchair. 00:04:20.550 --> 00:04:22.960 DO-IT was a really fun time. 00:04:22.960 --> 00:04:28.960 And I learned, but I also just had fun. 00:04:28.960 --> 00:04:30.660 I made friends. 00:04:30.660 --> 00:04:34.500 That social opportunity is the thing that sticks with me 00:04:34.500 --> 00:04:39.640 and makes me keep returning to support DO-IT in different ways. 00:04:39.640 --> 00:04:42.030 I still show up as a mentor because 00:04:42.030 --> 00:04:48.420 I remember how fun it was and the relationships I built there. 00:04:48.420 --> 00:04:49.260 [MUSIC PLAYING] 00:04:49.500 --> 00:04:52.180 To learn about how you can get involved, 00:04:52.180 --> 00:04:54.870 or for more resources about supporting students with 00:04:54.870 --> 00:05:01.590 disabilities, consult uw.edu/doit. 00:05:01.590 --> 00:05:06.810 Copyright 2025, University of Washington. 00:05:06.810 --> 00:05:09.330 Permission is granted to use this material 00:05:09.330 --> 00:05:11.730 for non-commercial purposes provided 00:05:11.730 --> 00:05:14.570 the source is acknowledged.