Nicole Tucker Smith, CEO of education consulting firm Lessoncast, prepares to give a keynote address on how Bryant University educators can meet the needs and abilities of all learners. The crowd at Bryant University’s Learning Lab fell silent.
But first, she had additional wisdom to share. “Eva Genova,” Tucker Smith said, “is a powerhouse.”
Sitting in the audience, Genova, a senior marketing major from Shelton, Conn., and a driving force behind the first symposium, beamed as the culmination of nearly four years of advocacy and courage paid off. .
Despite her passion and hard work, this success was never guaranteed for Genova, an advocate for students with learning differences at Bryant University.
When I was in my third year of high school, I went to Geneva. — The learning differences include: Encoding and decoding processing disorders, ADHD, anxiety — She was incorrectly told by her high school career guidance counselor that academic facilities would no longer be available to her at university. During her first semester at Bryant University in fall 2020, Genova was determined to persevere, studying for about eight hours each night and doing homework. Despite her beliefs, she was unable to move forward. “I also cried almost every night,” she recalls.
But everything started to change when she attended a panel discussion about students with disabilities at Bryant’s annual Day of Understanding, a university-wide event that gives the community a chance to learn from each other. During a panel discussion, Genova heard other students discuss their academic differences and their experiences finding helpful accommodations.
“Everything they said resonated with me and made me feel safe,” she says. “I felt like I was seen and heard and I felt valued. The people in that group were going through the same struggles that I was.
“Basically, I found my people and my community,” Genova says.
“I never want another student to experience the mental, physical, and emotional stress that I experienced.”
Empowered, Ms. Genova reached out to Marie Sadlemeyer, director of Accessibility Services at Bryant University and associate director of the university’s Academic Center for Excellence, to collaborate on accommodations that would support her studies. Developed. Simple things are mostly things like access to e-books or a little time to take a test.
These differences “literally changed my entire college experience,” she says. She now counts Saddlemeyer as one of her biggest supporters.
The panel also introduced her to Delta Alpha Pi, an international academic honor society established to recognize and support high-achieving college students with disabilities. Through Delta Alpha Pi, Genova has made connections with other students with learning differences. Among them was Honor Society President Via Valenti ’21, now a diversity and inclusion strategy consultant at Global View Communications, who said Ms. Genova was a mentor and inspiration. says. With Eva’s encouragement, Genova rose through the ranks of Delta Alpha Pi and became president during her junior year.
“That’s where my passion for advocating for students with disabilities was born,” she says. “I never want another student to experience the mental, physical, and emotional stress that I experienced.”
In addition to advocacy, the group works to reduce the stigma surrounding disabilities by spreading awareness, Genova said. “I have struggled with learning differences all my life, but they have always been a part of me,” she says. “But my parents always taught me to never be shy.”
She shared that message on a bigger stage during her sophomore year. At the time, she was participating in the same “Day of Understanding” panel discussion she had attended her freshman year.
“That was my first time speaking in public,” she recalls. “I’m not going to lie, I was really nervous and frustrated at first. But after it was over, I felt really good.”
In May of her third year, she had a big idea. What if she could expand on the panel that made such a difference in her life and speak directly to Bryant educators?
She took the concept to Sadlemeyer, an advisor to Delta Alpha Pi, and Ryan Sonder, a history, language and arts lecturer and associate faculty fellow in Bryant’s Center for Excellence in Education. Then, Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Students, and Chief Diversity Officer Inge-Lise Ameer Edited by Dr. “They loved it, so I ran with it,” Genova says.
Over the summer, Genova worked as a fellow in Bryant’s Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging and as an intern in the university’s Accessibility Services Department. But conferences were always on her mind. She said, “I’d come up with an idea and run to Marie and say, ‘Listen to this,’ and then I’d go back and do more research and come right back again.”
The proposed mini-conference will debut as the inaugural Bryant University Learning Lab, a series of symposiums on intentional and dialogic approaches to teaching and learning about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the classroom. did. Slowly but surely events took shape.
However, the most difficult part was choosing the keynote speaker. Through her research, Ms. Genova discovered Tucker Smith and was drawn to her expertise in Universal Design for Learning, an educational framework that guides the development of flexible learning environments that accommodate individual learning differences. I did. She was also excited that Tucker Smith’s work is truly intersectional, cutting across racism and ableism.
“She was everything I was looking for,” Genova recalls. However, she proved difficult to contact despite numerous attempts.
As summer drew to a close and scheduled conferences loomed, Genoa saw an opportunity. Sponsored by Bryant, she attended the 9th annual CAST UDL Symposium, which brings together educators from across the country to consider ways to eliminate learning disparities.
“No matter who you are, you can make an impact on someone’s life, whether it’s small or big. That’s what I try to live by.”
Genova, who was the only student to attend the conference, said she made many valuable connections. But the real shocking moment happened when she spotted Tucker Smith.
“I kept walking to the door of the conference where she was presenting and said to myself, ‘Okay, I’m going in,'” she recalls with a laugh.
Genova finally mustered up the courage to approach Tucker Smith on the symposium floor and pitch him. Like Mr. Amer and Mr. Saddlemeyer, Mr. Tucker Smith was fascinated by Genoa’s vision and agreed to give the keynote address.
On Oct. 4, faculty from Bryant’s College of Business, College of Arts and Sciences, and College of Health and Behavioral Sciences gathered in the Learning Lab. In addition to Tucker Smith’s keynote address, the event included a faculty panel and a video of Genova and other Bryant students sharing their experiences with learning differences.
“This was a space where we could all collaborate and learn from each other. Bryant is a community for everyone, so it’s important that we all work together,” she said. I am.
Genova plans to graduate from Bryant a semester early in December, but says her work is not done yet. She is currently completing an article sharing her research and experiences that will be published in the journal Multiple Voices: Disability, Race, and Language Intersections in Special Education. She aims to continue advocating for others throughout her own career.
Looking back on her time at Bryant, Genova hopes she inspired other students to speak up and seek positive change for themselves. “No matter who you are, you can make an impact in someone’s life, whether it’s small or big,” she says. “That’s what I try to live for.”
