Importance of Self-Advocacy and Awareness

What can we teach?

Importance of Self-Advocacy and Awareness:

The self-advocacy and awareness of the need for equity that is central to disability accommodations are also key to any student’s success as a future employee.

Negotiation and Follow-Through:

Whether it is a faculty concern or an institutional barrier or a long process such as hiring or budgeting, internships offer an opportunity model and teach both effective negotiation and critical follow-through

Critical Thinking and Appreciation:

In the process of asking interns to evaluate what a reasonable accommodation may be, we invite them to practice critical thinking and judgement. We encourage an awareness of the broad needs of any community and an appreciation for many diversity areas.

Students with Disabilities Services

Student Affairs and Student Success

For more information, contact:

4202 E. Fowler Ave SVC 1133

Tampa, FL 33520

(813) 974-4309

Unlikely Interns: Partnerships to Access and Success

Director: Deborah McCarthy

Students with Disabilities Services

Unlikely Interns

Traditional Interns

SDS at USF collaborates with Social Work, Psychology, and Vocational Rehabilitation for traditional interns/practicum students. Typically these students are unpaid because the student receives academic credit.

“Untraditional Interns”

Recently, SDS expanded our recruitment of interns to include fields not traditionally associated with disability studies, practice and research. Students from Applied Anthropology, Public Health, Criminology, Health Sciences, Creative Writing, and Classics and History add great perspective to the SDS Office.

Recruiting Interns

Determine Areas that Need Assistance

Student outreach, career development, scribing, disability awareness, case review, and captioning are a few areas where interns added to the success of SDS.

Departmental Collaboration

Reaching out to various departments through emails, resource fairs. student orientations and direct calls can facilitate the collaboration between new departments. Many departments do not have the resources to provide internships to all enrolled students. Offering opportunities in non-traditional fields benefits everyone.

Open Mindedness

Various backgrounds and academic areas offeropportunities to get new ideas and directions for disability awareness.

Opportunities

Breadth and Depth

Student Interns experience all areas of SDS (technology, testing case review, event planning, and disability documentation review) before making a decision regarding where to focus the depth of an internship.

Other Internships

Through collaborations with other departments, students who intern at SDS can make connections with: Students of Concern (SOCAT), the Counseling Center, Victim Advocacy and Violence Prevention, Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunity and Vocational Rehabilitation to name a few.

Employment

Many USF SDS interns successfully pursue full-time positions at USF. The skills provided by working in a disabilities office cross disciplines and allow for current and future success.