Disability Studies Student Stories

Meet Jocelyn

I recently earned a BS in Kinesiology, a Law & Legal Studies Minor, and a Disability Studies Minor from UTA. I’m also an Army veteran. I did initially not plan to complete a Disability Studies Minor, but I’m so very glad that I wound up adding that minor! It changed my life.

For my Disability Studies internship, I had the privilege of working with the UTA Movin' Mavs adapted sports program. At first, I was very shy and soft spoken, and was actually scared to ask the athletes what their names were. It wasn't long after that that my intern supervisor Coach Doug Garner pushed me to begin talking to the players and took me out of my comfort zone.

Initially, my DS internship project involved making an action plan to get equal funding for adapted sports, but soon, I instead decided to start an organization for students with disabilities and allies, Mavericks with Disabilities.  The purpose of this organization is to promote disability equity, inclusion, and community and, most importantly, to empower the voices of people with disabilities. We and other students feel like disabled students and the adapted sports student athletes don’t get the recognition that they deserve, and we want to change that!

I was honored to be awarded one of the first Professor Beatrice Ann Wright Disability Studies Scholarships in Fall 2020, and I’ve used that money to help get Mavericks with Disabilities off the ground as an organization.