This week we attended the State of the Art Conference on Inclusive Post-secondary Education and Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities. We had never attended before, and we truly enjoyed the sessions, keynotes, student leadership conference portion and networking with other students, parents, professionals, and leaders.

The main reason we attended was because Rachel won the Laura Lee Self-Advocate Leadership Award* and was giving one of the keynote addresses. I’ve been pondering how I could share in a blog what this experience was like and express our deep appreciation for so many of those involved. My thoughts are quite jumbled though. This morning it hit me: Let Rachel tell them.

So for those of you who weren’t there and who have 30 minutes to watch, this is a link to a video of Rachel’s keynote and award presentation. I hope you enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUSg_l41psY&list=LLYqj7vUsAeheYV_nr8NUDEA&index=1

I will circle back and blog with some other thoughts soon.

* The Laura Lee Self-Advocate Leadership Award is named in memory of Laura Lee, daughter of Gen and Stephanie Smith Lee, who was a pioneer in inclusive education at the national level. She passed away unexpectedly in 2016.