Hello UI REACH Family,
It is hard to believe that the Fall 2024 semester has reached its end and the Spring 2025 semester has begun! So far, this has been a semester of celebrating the achievements of our students, staff and our entire program. From welcoming 28 new students to the program this fall to introducing new mental health and socio-emotional learning supports and developing great new campus partnerships, the program continues to grow in new directions to best meet the needs of our students.
While it would be impossible to share everything we’ve been celebrating this semester in one newsletter, we’d like to make space to share some highlights from each of our core areas.
Bill Loyd,
Charles and Mary Sukup UI REACH Director
Academics
At the recent Heavenly Hawkeyes Choir Winter Concert (see video above) , our students shared a variety of songs that speak to the resilience and hope that have come to be foundational attributes of UI REACH. With songs like Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” to The Greatest Showman’s “This Is Me,” we pride ourselves on embracing and honing our individual strengths and coming together to move mountains. We’re excited to announce that in fall 2025, UI REACH will partner with the Music Therapy Program in the School of Music in the Voxman Music Building to launch an integrated for-credit course in which our students will join with other UI students in exploring choral music.
This past fall, all our students were enrolled in an integrated course, with most students taking more than one course. We’ve also formed new campus partnerships to promote inclusive course offerings, including Transitioning from Campus to Workplace, Assistive Tech for Academic Success, Healthy Relationships, Sexuality & You, and more.
Another highlight from this past semester was our visit to the College of Dentistry. With the opportunities for interactive learning, UI REACH students received an in-depth lesson on oral hygiene and health.
Career Development
Career Center
Coordinated by Program Specialist Erin Hora, students can drop into the Career Center for any career-related supports or coaching. The center offers support for job searching, interview practice, resume writing, onboarding, training and compliances, career assignments, credentialing, and more.
Internship Highlights
This year, we’ve expanded the internship opportunities available to our students, partnering with six new businesses. Forty-six of our students had internships this past semester, working at the University Libraries’ special collections, in virtual reality curriculum development for the College of Education, in the Iowa City Public Library’s graphic design department, and much more.
Transition Team
Virtual Courses
Continued education and skill development allow individuals to unlock new opportunities and advocate for an inclusive society where everyone can thrive. UI REACH is proud to offer virtual courses to alumni, current and incoming students, and the community. Recently, we have offered courses such as Budgeting 101, Cooking for One, Social Skills for the Workplace, and Personal Development.
Our current course offering is Adulting Like a Pro: Health Hacks and Self-Advocacy. Students participate in live sessions focused on learning practical tips and strategies to improve their physical and mental health.
“Our son has enjoyed and benefited greatly from the UI REACH continuing education classes. He enjoys meeting with students via Zoom and learning new skills. While participating in a traditional classroom could be challenging for him, he looks forward to these classes because he is able to manage them independently and participates every semester. It's also helpful that the classes are priced affordably.” –Parent of student enrolled in virtual classes.
EXPLORE
It’s hard to believe that we’re already in our third year of EXPLORE (Exploration of Postsecondary Learning Options, Resources, and Employment) and will be welcoming in a new cohort of students this spring. The program invites students of all ability levels (ages 14-21) to explore post-high school options like employment, trades training, community college, and university enrollment. One highlight from this semester was giving students the opportunity to practice job interview skills through specially designed virtual reality experiences.
Alumni Updates
Alumni Connor Muston was recently featured in the College of Education’s Iowa Education Annual Report.
Publications
Transition Coordinator Katie Abrams co-authored “Using Virtual Reality to Teach Science Vocabulary to Transition Aged Youth With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities,” published in the Journal of Special Education Technology, and “Virtual Reality for Teaching Science Vocabulary to Postsecondary Education Students With Intellectual Disability and Autism,” published in the Journal of Inclusive Postsecondary Education.
Last year’s Occupational Therapy Intern Avari Everts and Transition Coordinator Katie Abrams published a post on the Think College blog: “Putting Together the Puzzle Pieces: One OT Student's Experience in an Inclusive Postsecondary Education Program.”
Student Support Team
Socio-Emotional Learning (SEL) Accomplishments
- We completed Mental Health Screenings (depression, anxiety, social anxiety, and emotional regulation) with all incoming students to develop prevention and support strategies.
- UI REACH therapist provided 25 students with psychotherapy through long-term, short-term, and psycho-educational groups as well as behavior assessments and suggestions to staff for interventions.
- All first-year students completed a “DBT in the Classroom” course taught by a UI REACH psychotherapist that contributed to their understanding of socio-emotional competencies (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship skills). We will continue to offer education, guidance, and support on these SEL competencies for all students.
- Friendship Exploration groups, under various names such as “Game On,” will be offered in the Spring. We find these groups to be very valuable for students, as they receive guided support in developing relationships.
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This semester, we added an additional support for students, UI REACH Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Dan Wesemann. Wesemann is available to offer medicine assessment and ongoing med management services to students while on campus. So far this past fall, Wesemann has worked with six students and their families to assess current diagnoses and medication prescriptions.
Student Life
Year 3 and 4 Students Experience New and Improved Housing Options!
This semester, we began offering a new student housing option for our 3rd and 4th-year students at Aspire. The accommodations include kitchens, where students have been cooking many exciting meals during cooking lab. There are many shared spaces as well, such as the outdoor patio, a dog park, and a grill where students living at Aspire recently hosted first and second-year students to give them a tour of what their living spaces are like.
Unified Sports Teams
Among the many extracurricular activities that students have been participating in this semester has been unified sports teams. Our students have gotten involved with flag football, volleyball, bowling, and more.
Staff Spotlights
New Team Members
Stacie Nelson
Academic Team
Nelson has 20 years of teaching experience in public schools and has joined our team as an academic program specialist. She enjoys spending time with her dog Ollie, hiking, going to farmer’s markets, reading, and cheering on the Hawkeyes.
Abby Goldberg
Career Development Team
Goldberg is a recent University of Iowa graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Therapeutic Recreation. She completed her internship with UI REACH last semester, and we are very excited to have her join our team in a full-time position as a career program specialist. Goldberg loves traveling and playing with her new kitten, Penelope
Carter Stigge
Career Development Team
Stigge has a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the Carver College of Medicine and a Bachelor of Science in Health and Human Physiology from the University of Iowa. Stigge is a former resident assistant and ILEND Trainee. We are excited to have Stigge join our team in a full-time position as a career program specialist. Outside of work, Stigge is an avid exerciser, sports fanatic, and ice cream connoisseur.
Erin Phelan
Student Support Team
Master of Social Work graduate student Erin Phelan has a strong passion for working with folks with disabilities and is currently meeting with students one-to-one and will begin small support groups in spring 2025.
Send-Offs
In December, we said goodbye to our Therapeutic Recreation Intern Alex Brooks, Nastassia Juarez at the UI REACH office front desk, and three of our long-term Student Life Lead Mentors who graduated in the fall semester: Regan Trexel, Mary Miller, and Grace AbouAssaly! Thank you for all your amazing contributions to UI REACH.
The UI REACH family extends heart-felt congratulations to Derrick Willis on his retirement. Willis is the director of Iowa’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), one of 67 centers in the United States and territories. He also currently serves on the national board for the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), a 650-million-dollar disability advocacy center. But most important to us, Willis has served on the UI REACH Advisory Board since 2019. Our collaboration with UCEDD has been most valuable in ensuring that our students have opportunities that support their career and advocacy interests. Because of his wealth of experience in service provision to persons with disabilities, we hope that Willis will continue to serve on our board well into the future.
Supporting UI REACH
We have so much to be thankful for in 2024, as alumni, families, and friends of UI REACH gave generously with their philanthropy. Gift support ranged from programming to scholarship support of our wonderful REACH students. We invite you to read about Carol Faulk Senneff, a grandparent donor to UI REACH, who supported the program after her grandson benefited from being a UI REACH student.
If you are interested in learning more about making a gift, we welcome you to contact: Mae Parker, Executive Director of Development, mae.parker@foriowa.org or 319/467-3514 or Izabel Foerstner, Associate Director of Development, Izabel.foerstner@foriowa.org or 319/467-3528
William Loyd Jr. named Charles and Mary Sukup UI REACH Director
Thanks to a generous gift by the Sukup family, The Charles and Mary Sukup UI REACH Directorship Fund and the Charles and Mary Sukup UI REACH Excellence Fund have been created, providing support for the UI REACH program for years to come. Learn more about these funds on the College of Education website.
