This past summer, Think College Network teamed up with Mariela Adams from the Westchester Institute for Human Development (WIHD) to try out a coaching program for students in inclusive postsecondary education programs (IPSE) who want to become professional speakers. We did this remotely for ten weeks with five teams. The coaching involved short lessons and one-on-one sessions to help each student create a presentation for future speaking opportunities. WIHD and Think College team members, along with a mentor from their college, were there to support the students. Our goal was to give students public speaking knowledge, skills, and experiences, along with feedback, to improve their communication and advocate for greater awareness about disability issues. The professional mentors also learned how to support other students interested in becoming speakers.
We brought in two disability advocates as co-teachers, Nichole Hastings from WIHD and Kenneth Kelty from the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities at the University of North Carolina. Nichole helped with the content and coaching model, and along with Kenneth, they assisted Mariela in running the learning sessions.
The presentation skills coaching model came from WIHD’s Hear Our Voices Speakers Network. We started with what the students were passionate about to create a professional presentation reflecting their personal experiences and lessons from college. Each week, we had short lessons and group activities covering things like finding your speaking style, creating a strong introduction, wrapping up presentations, and using storytelling to connect real-life experiences with advocacy.
The coaching ended with all five student advocates giving great presentations to an engaged audience – friends, college staff and representatives from Think College and WIHD. The presentations mixed personal stories with professional insights. Students showed off their new public speaking skills, specific advocacy interests, and career plans as professional speakers. Students felt empowered and proud of their work, and how they are ready to jump into public speaking at conferences, schools, and other disability awareness events. Some students were even invited to speak on panels and present at national conferences.
Now, we're teaming up again to make the presentation skills coaching even better next summer. If you are a student who wants to participate, email us at thinkcollegeta@umb.edu.
If you know a student who would like to participate or if you would like to hire one of our student advocates to speak at your event, you may also send an email to thinkcollegeta@umb.edu.