“Disability is another form of diversity,” says Katie Halbruner, Regional Campus Coordinator, Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD). Katie and her partner welcomed a baby girl in April and we would like some life management tips from her! Of the 4,000 students registered with CSD across all campuses, Katie oversees about 300 students across the Hartford and Avery campuses, including graduate students, helping them to identify their disability or condition in order to optimize their access to resources. “My favorite part of my role is seeing that access can be granted.” The CSD has seen an increase in student registrations and the naming of anxiety and depression as conditions, which may have a lot to do with the pandemics of our time. “We typically assume students will need extra time for test-taking, but this semester we’ve worked more on course modifications, especially with asynchronous classes. Creating the environment to be successful at home is difficult. I’m also connecting with students more frequently. Sometimes I meet students whose accommodations don’t make too much of an impact, but through connecting with me, I’m able to connect them with other resources.” That is how access is made and thank you, Katie, for being a gateway, connecting our students to the most critical resources we could offer them.

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