[Athen] ATHEN Scholarship Winners during 2024

[via athen-list]

Hello ATHEN Family:

 

As requested by members, the leadership team is sharing some information
about our scholarship winners over 2024.

 


Ron Stewart Scholarship Update on 2024 Award


 

There were a handful of candidates, mostly comprised of folks entering the
disability resource world without much technology related experience, but
motivated to acquire new knowledge and skills. We received one application
from a professional with in depth expertise and interest in the Access
Technology field. Our award recipient is an Accessible Media Coordinator
(AMC) at University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) with over 15

years of experience advancing academic technology, accessibility, and a
culture of inclusion. We were thrilled to award the scholarship to a
professional that we see as able to bring back valuable information to
contribute to and innovate the Access Tech field, and in the future increase
their involvement with ATHEN. 

 


Teresa Haven Scholarship Update on 2024 Award


 

Out of the students who had applied, we received various areas of interest
and expertise. We were searching for a student who demonstrated high levels
of passion for inclusion of people with disabilities. We awarded this
scholarship to a student at Western Washington University pursuing an Urban
Planning and Sustainable Development degree with a minor in Critical
Disability Studies. A quote from the award recipient: "It is both my passion
and my career goal to work in planning and policy to move towards fair and
inclusive communities. I feel strongly that physical segregation reinforces
and perpetuates attitudinal segregation and inequity. When groups of people
are excluded from physical spaces, it reinforces the idea that they do not
belong in those spaces. Then, even when they are not technically excluded
anymore, they are often still socially excluded. It is my hope to create
inclusive spaces from the very beginning, with accessibility and equity in
mind, so that everyone is welcome from the outset, not with accessibility
features clumsily retrofitted or squeezed in as an afterthought."

 

We look forward to future opportunities to handout scholarships in 2025.

 

Jeff Bishop and the ATHEN Leadership Team

 

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