Tavia Smith-Crockett and Skye Robinson

Kennesaw, Georgia (Senate District 37)

Any given Friday, college campuses everywhere are likely to be filled with a buzzy, frenetic energy. But the Friday before spring break? That’s a whole other level of anticipation. On this cold, windy Friday in March, however, Tavia and Skye still have a full day of classes and work to get through before their week-long break can begin. The clock is ticking.

Tavia Smith-Crockett and Skye Robinson are students in Kennesaw State University’s Inclusive Post Secondary Education Program, Academy of Inclusive Learning and Social Growth. Robinson is in her first year; Smith-Crockett, her last. Rich Matthews, Program Coordinator, reflects that, in many ways, these two young women represent the bookends of the journey–and the highest ideal–for the young people who come through the program. (Story continues below after slideshow.)

Not only is it the last day of classes before Spring Break, but it’s also International Women’s Day. Instructor Tobhiyah Emiohe has chosen to work the holiday into the curriculum of class. She shows an inspiring video of young women from around the world and then asks the class to reflect: “What are your thoughts?” “I was surprised to see that girls struggle everywhere,” one student comments. Together they read a section from their curriculum about the qualities of a leader: “sense of direction,” “respects power,” “does the right thing,” etc. Then Instructor Emiohe asks the students to get up and write the names of famous women leaders, as well women in their lives, who reflect these qualities. After another student has eagerly volunteered his answer, Smith-Crockett moves to the front of the room to write her contributions, displaying all the quiet confidence Matthews has described watching emerge in her over the last four years.

Georgia is a leader in the South, second in program numbers only to Florida, by providing nine inclusive post-secondary education (IPSE) programs across the state. The 10th IPSE in Georgia open for students in Fall of 2024.These certificate programs, created to serve people with intellectual disabilities, offer the opportunity to specialize in a professional field and gain vital social skills. Many people who participate in IPSE programs go on to gainful employment. Starr Bruner, GCDD’s ​​Inclusive Post-Secondary Education and Employment Director, says, “Our students graduate with real work experience and skills, and our business community has embraced them. IPSE graduates are ready to contribute to the workforce, which in turn deepens the wider community’s connection to people with intellectual disabilities.” Bruner says the state makes a substantial and important investment in this area: “Georgia was an early adopter of IPSE programs, and our state’s public policy reflects that support for our students. We receive about $700,000 from the state annually to support, develop, and maintain IPSE programs.”

Kennesaw’s is the largest program in the state, with more than forty students per year. Students in the first two years are enrolled in the Academic, Social, and Career Enrichment (ASCE) certificate. However, unlike many other IPSE programs in Georgia, KSU offers a second two-year certificate so that students can enrolled for a total of four years. The second certificate is Advanced Leadership and Career Development (ALCD). This year, approximately 75% of their students are in the first certificate program, with 25% in the second. As KSU’s mascot is the Owl, Matthews says that a lot of metaphors get built into campus culture about helping students to “find your wings.” He really sees that as resonating with his experience of working with students in this program as they gain confidence, especially referring again to how Robinson and Smith-Crockett are like mirror images to the beginning and end of the journey.

Peer mentors who serve as guides and tutors as students navigate the new terrain of the campus environment. They attend class together with their mentee, take notes, and model student behavior in the classroom. For instance, they might remind their mentee to put away their phone during class. However, Matthews is quick to point out that peer mentors are not there in a corrective role. The peer mentorship is a paid, twenty-hour-per-week position, and is a model that is shared with other IPSE programs across the nation.

Robinson, a twenty-year-old whose family now lives in Sugar Hill, enjoys “living that dorm life on campus.” She likes that she can run back to her dorm easily between classes to change clothes before her shift at the campus dining hall, where she works seventeen hours a week. Robinson was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD, when she was about fourteen years old. She feels her diagnosis was late as she discusses having trouble paying attention in class when she was younger, how she was socially impacted, and mentions often being asked to leave class when she became disruptive. Now, because of the many opportunities she has, She says she’s become an ardent self-advocate. Having enjoyed theater and acting programs and classes throughout middle and high school, Robinson loves creative self-expression and cosplay. She’s even gotten to try her hand at voiceover acting for animé, which is her favorite thing to watch. Instructor Emiohe talks about watching Robinson in her journey, how far she’s come in just this first nine months. She was quiet and clearly had some early anxieties. A defining moment, though, was when she came to class dressed fully in costume and makeup as one of her cosplay characters and made a presentation. “You could tell Robinson was really coming into herself,” Emiohe says with a proud smile.

Smith-Crockett, now twenty-one and from Marietta, was born premature at twenty-four weeks. That led to a number of health problems, including a tracheostomy and a staph infection, as well as some cognitive delays. She’s had breathing problems and asthma off and on throughout her life. She describes herself as a visual learner and talks about how she’s had to work with teachers to help them learn how to adapt to her learning needs. These days, she works at The Market, the campus convenience store, and rides “The Bob” (The Big Owl Bus) between the two KSU campuses. Smith-Crockett’s academic concentration is nutrition. She believes in supporting people in being healthy because of the way her life started. Her number one piece of nutrition advice? Limit your intake of sugars and carbs, though you can enjoy a treat every now and again.

Both Robinson and Smith-Crockett feel the program at KSU is preparing them for the real world in ways that are valuable, substantial. “It feels more relatable. I saw another girl that has the same scar as me,” Smith-Crockett says, gesturing with her pen toward the trach scar on her neck, “but she was in a wheelchair. And we kind of related and were like, ‘Hey, let me share my story.’” She feels that her ability to accept people and still see them as healthy is going to serve her well when she gets out into the working world and needs to connect with them about their nutrition.

Seeing people from their strengths, as whole and healthy, is what Smith-Crockett will bring to her work life after she graduates. In the same way, as Robinson continues to explore the theater, you can tell she wants to tell stories that are positive, full of the confidence that’s emerging in her. They are a microcosm, a manifestation of the program they’re coming through in terms of seeing people from their sense of wholeness, their possibility, and their strengths. That’s how you teach people to fly–by believing in their ability in the first place.

Writer: Shannon Turner, Photographer: Haylee Anne