Honor Society Connects, Recognizes

It’s hard to believe that someone like Hannah Stewart ’12 could ever feel alone. A bubbly, 21-year-old Information Design and Corporate Communication major at Bentley, Stewart gets good grades and juggles membership in several student groups. But she remembers the isolation of growing up with a learning disability.

Now, the Connecticut native has no trouble connecting with others who have faced similar challenges. She leads the Bentley chapter of Delta Alpha Pi (DAPi), a national honor society for students with disabilities. Its twofold mission: Recognize members’ academic success and raise awareness of disability issues.

Professors at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania founded DAPi in 2004 as a means to laud academic achievement among college students with all types of disabilities, including learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, medical conditions and psychological disabilities.

The organization now has more than 60 chapters across the country. The Bentley group got started in fall 2010, with Coordinator of Disability Services Stephanie Brodeur leading the way.

Overcoming a Stigma

With a nod to progress made in recent years, Brodeur acknowledges that the term “disability” continues to carry a certain stigma.

“A lot of students who come into my office aren’t quite sure what it means,” says Brodeur, who holds the CRC and LRC credentials as a certified and licensed rehabilitation counselor. “They think it’s something bad. They think it means they’re less intelligent. In reality, most of the disabilities we see at Bentley don’t affect intellectual capacity at all.”

Brodeur’s query to students about starting a DAPi chapter on campus drew an enthusiastic response. Membership criteria include having a documented disability, being registered with Bentley’s Office of Disability Services, and maintaining a demonstrated interest in disability issues. The qualifying grade point averages for undergraduates and graduate students are 3.1 and 3.3, respectively.

Stewart was among eight Bentley students who met DAPi requirements in 2010. After an initiation ceremony, chapter members elected officers and met monthly to discuss ways to promote the message reflected in the Greek letters of the group’s name: disability, achievement and pride. The result was Bentley’s first Disability Awareness Day, held on March 30, 2011.

Opening Eyes

The initiative focused on education. DAPi members including Stewart and vice president Jackie Gonski ’12 staffed a table stacked with brochures and other information about different types of disabilities. Meanwhile, simulation exercises offered a window on the experience of having a particular disability, for example, a paragraph of jumbled letters and numbers showed the challenge of reading for someone with dyslexia.

“It was nice to show others how we see things a little differently from everyone else,” says Stewart. “It doesn’t mean we’re dumber, it just means that we learn in a different way – and sometimes it takes us a little extra time. That was the overall goal: Create an open conversation for more understanding.”

The day wrapped up with a panel discussion, during which Stewart and Gonski shared stories of navigating academic life with learning disabilities. Professors in the audience valued the first-person insight, says Brodeur.

“When there are accommodations to be made in the classroom, faculty get a letter from our office detailing what needs to be done,” she explains, noting that the school is not legally required to include the student’s diagnosis. “We leave it up to the student to decide whether to share more information.”

Organizers say that Disability Awareness Day accomplished its aims.

“Disability is usually something that people think is a secret,” observes Gonski, a Corporate Finance and Accounting major. “For Hannah and me to sit at a table and say, ‘Let me help you understand’ – that was the biggest success.”

Work is underway to secure campus organization status for DAPi as well as to plan Disability Awareness Day 2012. Stewart and Gonski are also involved in Project Eye-to-Eye, a service–learning program coordinated through Bentley’s Disability Services office. The program enlists college students as mentors for elementary school children with learning disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The connections have special meaning for Stewart. “I definitely know now that I’m not alone. There are people on campus just as excited about disability awareness and advocacy as I am. That’s the bond that ties us.”