Rachel’s first semester at college is coming to an end in a week. Her favorite class this semester was Public Speaking. Her professor wanted her to do a speech about why inclusion is important and include information on ABLE and why the Bear POWER program is important. Her final speech was “Inclusion Matters.” With her permission, I thought I would share it with you.
“If I had been born in 1969 instead of 1999, I would not have been allowed to go to school with my friends. Before 1975, a person like me with Down syndrome did not have the right to a public education. Today, I will tell you why Inclusion Matters.
It is important for everyone to be included because we can all learn from one another. We learn skills like patience that will help us at work or in friendships. I am in a video called “Just Like You-Down Syndrome.” The video explain that we may all be different, but we can all can be a part, have friends, and make a difference.
In 1975, a law called I D E A, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, was passed. It said people with disabilities like Down syndrome had a right to go school with our friends. With supports, I was always in class with my friends. I was also the volleyball manager and in STUCO. I learned to love Shakespeare.
I graduated with a diploma just like my friends. Research shows that when students with disabilities go to school with their friends and learn the same things, they can succeed.
When I was born almost 20 years ago, there were almost no college programs for people with Down syndrome. Today, there are about 270 college programs for people with intellectual disabilities including the MSU Bear POWER program. Recently, MSU President Clif Smart and Bear POWER Program Director Rachel Heinz have both been quoted in articles. Both point out how Bear POWER gives students with and without disabilities opportunities. Bear POWER stands for: Promoting Opportunities for Work, Education and Resilience.
I am one of the eight students in the first Bear POWER class. We all have different interests. I am interested in theatre. We will walk at graduation. We take classes like this one and receive job training. Next semester, we will have jobs or internships. Some of the internships I am interested in are the Springfield Little Theatre, the Bear POWER office, or somewhere on the MSU campus. We live in the dorms just like other students.
There are many ways other students can be involved. You can volunteer at. You can volunteer to be a Bear Ambassador. Each student has four Bear Ambassadors. My Bear Ambassadors are:
- Hannah
- Grace
- Faith
- Chelsey
They are awesome and help me a lot.
Grace says: “Bear POWER is an awesome program and without this program I wouldn’t have been able to meet Rachel. Now that our paths have crossed, we have become such good friends on and off campus. I know this friendship is going to last forever!”
It is important for students at Missouri State to go to college with us so they can see that we are able. We might need support, but we are good friends and good students. We can do the same things as other students.
College is expensive and most programs like Bear POWER cost even more than regular college. In 2014, I helped to pass the Achieving a Better Life Experience or ABLE Act was passed. It helps people with disabilities to save money to help pay for disability related expenses. People with disabilities like Down syndrome can only have $2,000 in assets and receive supports like Social Security and Medicaid.
The ABLE Act allows people like me to save money that can be used for expenses like college, job training, transportation, housing and other expenses. For the first time, people like me can save without worrying about losing our support services.
I told my Senators and Congressman that they should pass the ABLE act so I can live my dreams of going to college and living in a pink house in New York City. They all supported it and called me to congratulate me when it passed. Senator Moran says I am the best lobbyist in DC! Now, I can save money for my dreams like my friends.
One of the main reasons programs like Bear POWER are important is because they help prepare people like me for jobs. Research shows that about 61% of students completing programs for students like Bear POWER have meaningful competitive employment within a year of completing the program. Meaningful competitive employment means we have jobs in the community with our peers, and we are paid just like our co-workers. The employment rate on the national level for people with intellectual disabilities is about 17%. My parents think the job outlook is the best reason for me to be in the Bear POWER Program.
While you are here at Missouri State, there are lots of ways you can get involved. I think you will agree that getting involved and supporting the Bear POWER program would make a lasting difference for you and others. In closing, people with disabilities should have opportunities like everyone else. Programs like Bear POWER have been created to give people with and without disabilities opportunities to work and learn together.
I have Down syndrome, but I am not Down syndrome.
I am Rachel. Like most of you, I have hopes and dreams.
The Bear POWER program, Missouri State, my ambassadors, my teachers, and all of you are helping me to live my dream.
Now, I hope you will help others to live their dreams.
That would make my heart happy. “
I don’t know how many people were in Rachel’s public speaking class. I do know that it seems every time we visited we met someone from her class who commented on her speeches and told us how much they enjoyed having class with Rachel. I do know I heard her practice this speech several times, and her passion was infectious. I also know that if just those students who were in her public speaking class learned something about the importance of including people with disabilities, then this semester was a success.
NOTE: For those of you wondering, she did have help from a friend, parents, and Bear Ambassadors (mentors) putting her speech together. We all tried to be sure it was her voice though.
