I Did What They Said I Couldn’t

My name is Allen Thomas. I am a graduate of Appalachian State University’s Scholars with Diverse Abilities Program (SDAP). I am a student currently at the University of North Carolina Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disorders program, which is a one-year program where I work with doctors, physical therapists, and occupational therapists, and we discuss topics around disability laws, and I also will begin Wake Tech Community College in January. My major is early childhood education, because I want to help families with early intervention resources. Coming to Appalachian State was a really new experience for me. It was the first time I was ever away from home. I learned to self-advocate by asking my professors about different assignments. App State set a tone that anybody can be successful no matter where they came from. Different from high school, all the staff at App State wanted to talk about my future and taught me about being a successful student. Prior to App State, I’ve never done anything on my own or socialized. Freshman orientation at App State helped me a lot by making new friends and doing things for myself. I also made friends all over campus, and I was respected by my professors. In high school, I used to stay in my room all day playing video games because I didn’t have a social support system. Socially at App State, I would go to church with friends, go out to dinner, and go to Washington, D.C.

Up until App State, all of my former teachers, with the exception of a few, said I had no future and my job choices would be picking up trash and working in retail. I was in the occupational courses of study program where you learn and find job placement, but they said I would never go to college. Here I am, years later, accepted into my third university. Without a program like SDAP we would be stuck with no social life or career path.