Student Stories – Texas A&M Disability Resources

Story Photo	Story Description
	Maureen Hayden ’21: Helping Planet and People Through Science Maureen Hayden ’21 has always had her sights firmly set on a career as a scientist and the possibilities that lie ahead. After all, for the longest time, it was about the only thing she could see clearly.
	Texas A&M Named a Top 20 Wheelchair-Friendly Campus Texas A&M University is featured in New Mobility’s top 20 wheelchair-friendly campuses nationwide. The publication interviewed director, Dr. Kristie Orr, and several Texas A&M students about disability culture and accessibility on campus.
	Ty & Taylor Sutton ’21 – Aggie Spirit Award Winners Taylor ‘21 and Ty ‘21 Sutton received the 2020 Aggie Spirit Award from the Texas A&M Faculty Senate in April 2020. The Aggie Spirit Award recognizes remarkable students who have demonstrated outstanding courage and determination in the face of adversity while attending Texas A&M.
	Aaron Zajac ’20 – Navigating Texas A&M With Autism All students who attend Texas A&M have unique challenges as they make their way through college. Aaron Zajac ’20, who has autism, flourished as a member of the Corps of Cadets.
	Meet DJ B: Bridget Frank In a story featured on KAGS TV learn about how Bridget Frank balances being a political science major, psychology minor, student senator, sorority member and a DJ – all while also being legally blind.
	Seizing every opportunity: Patricia “Itzel” Rodriguez ’21 “I was born with a lot of medical problems that have left me physically disabled, but because of that part of my life I’ve had to learn to adapt to my environment.”
	Making WHAT IF Possible: Grace Lassiter When asked to list three things that uniquely define her, Grace Lassiter, a recent graduate of the Texas A&M College of Medicine, doesn’t hesitate in her response: “I love to paint, I want to be a surgeon and I am deaf.”
	Sumner Johnson ’19 Recipient of a Sul Ross Scholarship shares his perspective on being a student in the Corps of Cadets – including membership in the Aggie Band and Ross Volunteers. Sumner also happens to have a visual impairment.
	My Aggie Story: Cheyenne Cosman ’19 After spending 18 years of her life in Switzerland, Cheyenne Cosman made a huge change in her life once she moved to College Station. Currently a student majoring in communications with a minor in psychology, Cheyenne has learned how to overcome new struggles in college while finding the resources to help her succeed.
	Accessible Aggieland An interdisciplinary team of faculty, staff and students has added helpful accessibility features to the campus map including the locations of accessible entrances, automatic doors and accessible paths.
	Tyler Wooten ’19 – Uses 3D Printing to Create Tactile Campus Map Mechanical engineering student, Tyler Wooten, used the skills he learned in a 3D printing class to create an accessible tactile and Braille map that was placed in the Memorial Student Center in the Fall of 2017.
	Professor Develops Novel Reading Technology For The Blind Researchers at Texas A&M have developed technology for talking books that allows people who are blind to access more literature with increased command over their reading experiences.
	Respecting Service Animals on Campus While the dogs on campus may seem friendly and approachable, many of them are service animals and approaching them often impedes their ability to do their job.
	Sarah Quick – Promoting Dwarfism Awareness Month Texas A&M biomedical sciences and wildlife and fisheries double major Sarah Quick, in the MSC on A&M’s campus, is reaching out to local media outlets, social media, friends and anyone else she can speak with to help promote Dwarfism Awareness Month. (Photo by Sam Craft/The Eagle, October 2014)
	Bridget Reily – Student Advocate for Crohn’s Disease In this article that ran in a September 2014 edition of the Battalion we learn about Bridget Reily who has become a leading spokesperson for Crohn’s disease awareness in her hometown of Tyler, Texas. Bridget has become highly involved in her local chapter of Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, CCFA, an organization that promotes awareness and raises funds for Crohn’s disease research.
	Taylor Delz – “Lessons From Adversity” In this article in “The Battalion”, Taylor Delz shares his changed perspective on life after surviving third degree burns when he was 14.
	Caleb Jentsch ’13 – “How to Save a Life” After a near fatal skiing accident, Caleb Jentsch (pictured on the right in the photo with his friend, Eric) seeks to educate others about the importance of wearing a helmet. In this article published by the Battalion in November 2013 Caleb talks about his injury, recovery, return to Texas A&M University and his goal to bring awareness about helmet safety.
	Don Mathews, Jr – “Road to Resilience” After recovering from an assault that left him with a traumatic brain injury and memory loss in 1998, Don Mathews graduates almost 15 years later, by taking just a few classes at a time. The Battalion also ran a previous feature on Don in 2009.
	Trevor Warren ’11 – “Accommodations Supported by Donations” Trevor is a student with dyslexia who uses audio books and electronic text with text-to-speech software to help him accommodate his reading difficulties. Part of the funding to assist with the production costs for alternative format course materials comes from the Association of Former Students.

Story Photo

Story Description

Maureen Hayden ’21: Helping Planet and People Through Science
Maureen Hayden ’21 has always had her sights firmly set on a career as a scientist and the possibilities that lie ahead. After all, for the longest time, it was about the only thing she could see clearly.

Photo: Briana Bazan, wheelchair user, hold her admissions congratulations poster

Texas A&M Named a Top 20 Wheelchair-Friendly Campus
Texas A&M University is featured in New Mobility’s top 20 wheelchair-friendly campuses nationwide. The publication interviewed director, Dr. Kristie Orr, and several Texas A&M students about disability culture and accessibility on campus.

Ty & Taylor Sutton ’21 – Aggie Spirit Award Winners
Taylor ‘21 and Ty ‘21 Sutton received the 2020 Aggie Spirit Award from the Texas A&M Faculty Senate in April 2020. The Aggie Spirit Award recognizes remarkable students who have demonstrated outstanding courage and determination in the face of adversity while attending Texas A&M.

Photo: Aaron Zajac, far right, gathers for a group photo with his outfit buddies

Aaron Zajac ’20 – Navigating Texas A&M With Autism
All students who attend Texas A&M have unique challenges as they make their way through college. Aaron Zajac ’20, who has autism, flourished as a member of the Corps of Cadets.

Meet DJ B: Bridget Frank
In a story featured on KAGS TV learn about how Bridget Frank balances being a political science major, psychology minor, student senator, sorority member and a DJ – all while also being legally blind.

Seizing every opportunity: Patricia “Itzel” Rodriguez ’21
“I was born with a lot of medical problems that have left me physically disabled, but because of that part of my life I’ve had to learn to adapt to my environment.”

Making WHAT IF Possible: Grace Lassiter
When asked to list three things that uniquely define her, Grace Lassiter, a recent graduate of the Texas A&M College of Medicine, doesn’t hesitate in her response: “I love to paint, I want to be a surgeon and I am deaf.”

Sumner Johnson ’19
Recipient of a Sul Ross Scholarship shares his perspective on being a student in the Corps of Cadets – including membership in the Aggie Band and Ross Volunteers. Sumner also happens to have a visual impairment.

My Aggie Story: Cheyenne Cosman ’19
After spending 18 years of her life in Switzerland, Cheyenne Cosman made a huge change in her life once she moved to College Station. Currently a student majoring in communications with a minor in psychology, Cheyenne has learned how to overcome new struggles in college while finding the resources to help her succeed.

Accessible Aggieland
An interdisciplinary team of faculty, staff and students has added helpful accessibility features to the campus map including the locations of accessible entrances, automatic doors and accessible paths.

Tyler Wooten ’19 – Uses 3D Printing to Create Tactile Campus Map
Mechanical engineering student, Tyler Wooten, used the skills he learned in a 3D printing class to create an accessible tactile and Braille map that was placed in the Memorial Student Center in the Fall of 2017.

Professor Develops Novel Reading Technology For The Blind
Researchers at Texas A&M have developed technology for talking books that allows people who are blind to access more literature with increased command over their reading experiences.

Respecting Service Animals on Campus
While the dogs on campus may seem friendly and approachable, many of them are service animals and approaching them often impedes their ability to do their job.

Sarah Quick – Promoting Dwarfism Awareness Month
Texas A&M biomedical sciences and wildlife and fisheries double major Sarah Quick, in the MSC on A&M’s campus, is reaching out to local media outlets, social media, friends and anyone else she can speak with to help promote Dwarfism Awareness Month. (Photo by Sam Craft/The Eagle, October 2014)

Bridget Reily – Student Advocate for Crohn’s Disease
In this article that ran in a September 2014 edition of the Battalion we learn about Bridget Reily who has become a leading spokesperson for Crohn’s disease awareness in her hometown of Tyler, Texas. Bridget has become highly involved in her local chapter of Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, CCFA, an organization that promotes awareness and raises funds for Crohn’s disease research.

Taylor Delz – “Lessons From Adversity”
In this article in “The Battalion”, Taylor Delz shares his changed perspective on life after surviving third degree burns when he was 14.

Caleb Jentsch ’13 – “How to Save a Life”
After a near fatal skiing accident, Caleb Jentsch (pictured on the right in the photo with his friend, Eric) seeks to educate others about the importance of wearing a helmet. In this article published by the Battalion in November 2013 Caleb talks about his injury, recovery, return to Texas A&M University and his goal to bring awareness about helmet safety.

Photo: Don Mathews (courtesey of The Battalion)

Don Mathews, Jr – “Road to Resilience”
After recovering from an assault that left him with a traumatic brain injury and memory loss in 1998, Don Mathews graduates almost 15 years later, by taking just a few classes at a time. The Battalion also ran a previous feature on Don in 2009.

Trevor Warren ’11 – “Accommodations Supported by Donations”
Trevor is a student with dyslexia who uses audio books and electronic text with text-to-speech software to help him accommodate his reading difficulties. Part of the funding to assist with the production costs for alternative format course materials comes from the Association of Former Students.