Building 7 was the beating heart of campus one week ago, as the students and faculty who make up Highline’s Achieve Program embodied the tenets of accessibility, diversity, and self-acceptance, further highlighting the importance of Inclusive Post-Secondary Education (IPSE) Day at collegiate institutions nationwide.

In fact, IPSE Day was the perfect opportunity for the crackling conversations between the audience and the student panel arranged by Communication Studies Instructor Amy Rider King, and monitored by Director of Accessibility Resources Julie Pollard and Associate Dean of Accessibility Resources Jenni Sandler.

Sandler kicked off the panel discussion with an introduction to Achieve, the exciting overview of Highline’s exceptional Disability Cultural Center, and an intentful recognition of a community that continues to breathe life into campus events year-round.

“I’d like to thank the disabled community for your labor in this movement,” Sandler told the crowd just before introducing the student panel: An apt point to be made before the four students took their place on the stage. Christopher Petterson, Rose Awiten, Perla Garcia, and Hannah Grossman each introduced themselves and their career aspirations, creating a tangible view of the possibilities that a strong community can unlock in any student.

Awiten, a seasoned guest speaker and leader of the Filipino Club and Video Game Club, had positive things to say about how programs like Achieve provide the perfect platform for students to find community and keep chasing their dreams. “I love Highline… Everything I do here feels powerful; I get to work here and make friends. Highline College is like my second home.”

The sentiment was echoed by the rest of the panel, though each interest was as diverse as the students and faculty in the audience. Petterson, a Museum of Flight Volunteer, is–appropriately–an aspiring pilot, while Grossman is a Highline Bookstore intern with a penchant for creative writing and plans to transfer to the University of Washington.

“Writing and art has always been a huge part of my personality,” Grossman told an audience member at last Thursday’s IPSE Day panel, bringing to mind that a college’s true colors brighten when you can see each individual and elevate their own individual needs and goals.

Garcia, a deaf student who loves yoga and painting, has dreams of teaching art and working at Starbucks–where substantial steps have been taken to open themselves up to the deaf community.

Director Pollard’s own focus is at the center of this active pride and involvement among the disabled community, and she is still keenly aware of the challenges that exist that many other people often don’t see. 

“Ableism is alive and well in education,” she said, referring to the obstacles that Achieve and Access Services aim to stamp out through events like IPSE Day. That awareness of the negative however, does not stifle the drive and excellence coming from Achieve’s students on a daily basis. One can only imagine what the coming fall quarter will bring for the students here.

Those who want to learn more about the Achieve community can find them on the fifth floor of Building 25, or email them at achieve@highline.edu.

Liv Lyons has been an editor for the Thunderword since 2023. Their short story blog, “Loser Pulp“, is released twice a month.