Supporting Students with Disabilities: Why I Started MEwD
Kiana Lowes (she/her), Civil Engineering and Society, Level III
As a woman, a queer person, and a human who struggles with mental health issues that impact my ability to learn, I was terrified of entering university and finding myself with no resources and little way to advocate for myself. I found this particularly scary because I am in engineering, and marginalized groups in engineering, as well as other scientific fields, can be vulnerable and face discrimination because of the learning environments that have been designed for white, able-bodied, cisgender, heterosexual men.
In October of 2022, I was finally diagnosed with autism after many years of waiting for an official diagnosis. At this time, I was also dealing with anemia, a health issue that I deal with regularly which, for various reasons, detrimentally impacts my ability to learn. I was starting to become quite frustrated with the lack of assistance and understanding I was receiving from my professors and teaching staff. This is not necessarily any fault of their own, but a fault of the system that has been created and continues to be supported today — the system that caters to “normates”. Being autistic proved to not be any more manageable once I was diagnosed. The stigma that surrounds being neurodivergent seems not to change whether you have a diagnosis or not. I felt that I could be undiagnosed and perceived as “strange”, or be diagnosed, tell people, and let them still perceive me as “strange” — but on my own terms. Luckily, I found immediate solace in knowing that there were student-run resources available to me within the faculty of engineering, where I could easily connect with other people in situations like mine.
When January 2023 rolled around and WiE, Engiqueers, AISES, and NSBE were marketing IDEA 2023, I was intrigued and eager to learn from others who share my experiences and can help me create a safe environment for others in my life. At this event, I realized that there are very few student or school-run supports outside of SAS that cater to students with disabilities. Students who are part of this marginalized group may not have the opportunity to advocate for themselves because they are focusing on surviving, which is the position I was in during the fall 2022 term. There may be points in my university career where I cannot do anything but survive. I also know that right now, I have the energy and the motivation to help support others in advocating for themselves and connecting with others who have similar experiences with disability, particularly experiences within the institutional environment of academia. I have found from speaking to peers that other fields and faculties tend to better understand why it is vital to be accommodating instead of focusing only on academic achievement, and this is certainly something that the field of engineering needs to work on.
My initial ideas for McMaster Engineers with Disabilities (MEwD) were not small. I immediately went to the possibility of a mentorship program because I have seen those programs benefit students. The wholehearted support and guidance upper-year mentors can provide their lower-year mentees are undoubtedly critical to ensuring students feel heard and validated. I also decided that this was something I needed to take on myself, at least in its beginning stages, because I needed the people who would benefit the most from MEwD to know that this club was created with their interests prioritized. Sometimes the institution’s interests need to be put on the back burner to do what is best for those needing assistance and access to an equitable learning environment.
I am very grateful to lead an incredible executive team, all of whom have had personal lived experiences with disability, and understand what other students need to thrive. We are currently working on a joint initiative with the Bachelor of Technology Association to put together a “cheat sheet” for professors so that they can adequately assist students and create an accessible, healthy learning environment. Additionally, our club has come full circle and will be participating as one of the teams at IDEA 2024, the conference that sparked the idea for MEwD and established explicitly in my mind that this needed to be done.
I have also surprised myself throughout this journey and realized how self-sufficient I can be and how much power I have within myself to get something done. I have received a lot of positive feedback from faculty, staff, and peers, which translates directly into more energy put into the club. The gratitude that I am seeing now proves that there was a need for MEwD. I have experienced extended bouts of self-doubt throughout this process, wondering if I’m getting into something too large to handle. Those doubts disappear when I see that someone is appreciative of this resource and will benefit from our work in the future.
One of my goals within MEwD is to inspire and support others in their self-advocacy journey and help dismantle the systems that actively work against marginalized people. We can always strive to be more accessible, whether that is at an institutional level or in our day-to-day lives.
If you want to learn more about McMaster Engineers with Disabilities, you can reach out to our Instagram @mcmasterewd or send us an email at mewd@mcmaster.ca. Check out the resources currently available to students with disabilities at https://sas.mcmaster.ca/, and watch for more information about IDEA 2024!
