On 20 June 2015 the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow, hosted the University’s annual Benefactors’ Garden Party at Canterbury, to thanks all those who have supported Kent over the past year. Around 180 guests attended the event, including alumni and friends of the University. Rebecca Monteleone was invited to speak to the assembled guests about her experience as a Fulbright postgraduate student at Kent, studying for a Master’s in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Rebecca said: “While at the Ohio State University, I developed a passion for disability rights, particularly for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Because the field of disability activism is a relatively new one, I had the incredible opportunity to develop my own Bachelor’s program, pulling from the humanities, psychology, social work, and speech and hearing, to become the first ever undergraduate to earn a Disability Studies degree at the University. My interests extended beyond the classroom and, in my final year, I became the founder and co-chair of Ohio’s first disability pride parade and festival. As much as I had become involved in the disability rights movement in the state of Ohio, I was eager to develop my skills and widen my perspectives as I pursued a higher degree.
As the youngest of four children in a family that relied on food stamps for much of my early childhood, the thought of receiving a degree abroad seemed impossibly out of reach. I had worked to support myself through my undergraduate degree, and had never even been out of the country. All I had in my favour was a passion for supporting people with intellectual disabilities and determination to succeed.
When I found the University of Kent’s Tizard Centre, which is producing world-leading research in the field of intellectual disability and actively working to shift perspectives toward embracing individuals with disabilities as valuable and irreplaceable members of our communities, I had mixed emotions. Here was an academic institution doing work that truly resonated with me, and there was no way I could possibly afford to study here. Thanks to the support of the US-UK Fulbright Commission and the ever-generous University of Kent alumni and donors, my dream to study and contribute to this field has become a reality. My current work, under Dr Rachel Forrester-Jones, explores how adults with intellectual disabilities understand disability and how they identify themselves in that context. We are seeking to develop a functional definition of disability for this population, and inform services to provide more person-centred care based on these findings. This month we will travel to Belfast, Northern Ireland, to present our study at the Social Policy Association annual conference.
As my Master’s program draws to a close, I am looking ahead. Next year, I will be interning in Washington, DC with a non-profit organisation that researches best practice for students with intellectual disabilities transitioning into the community. Following this, I will be entering a PhD and continuing my work on how social identity affects care outcomes for adults. In the long-term, I am determined to lead an international rights initiative for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Kent cares about students like me, and I cannot express how much that has altered my research career and my life trajectory. I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to anyone who has supported the University and, by extension, students who may not have the means to study in the UK, but have the talent, drive and passion to succeed. Kent’s commitment to excellence in research sets it apart in the academic sphere, but its commitment to its students is what makes Kent truly unique.
Thank you.”
Rebecca has been supported by the University of Kent in America (UKA). For more information, please visit our website.