What had originally begun as an internship for Hannah Hepler has turned into a full-fledged program that is working to provide a smooth transition into college for students with disabilities.

The Hand-in-Hand Alliance, a program offered through Point Park’s Disability Services, is partnering new students that register with disabilities to mentors who have shown significant achievement on campus.

Hepler, a junior psychology major and a resident educator on campus, worked with the Center for Student Success to help create the program. She views the Hand-in-Hand Alliance as a necessity on Point Park’s campus.

“Point Park preaches a lot about inclusion,” Hepler said in an interview on Saturday. “I believe that having everyone included and having a home on this campus is very important.”

Director of Disability Services Matt Berwick said that the Center for Student Success wanted to find a way to integrate students with disabilities into the Point Park community.

“We’re creating friendships,” Berwick said. “We’re creating those matches so that these students are successful. That’s the main goal behind the program.”

Students in the program are mainly those who are considered to be on the autism spectrum, though there are some with social anxiety as well.

There are currently six students with mentors through the Hand-in-Hand Alliance. Mentors serve as a “translator” between the student and the staff at the Center for Student Success.

Mentees meet weekly with their mentors to discuss how their lives are going, both academically and socially, and to bring to the table any problems they are having.

“We were looking to find a way to support these students by using their peers and providing them with what would be considered a more typical college experience,” Molly McClelland, the director for the Center for Student Success, said in a phone interview on Saturday.

McClelland said that one of the goals of Hand-in-Hand Alliance was to create good experience for both mentees and mentors. Over the course of the program, she has witnessed growth from both the student mentoring and the one who is being mentored.

Throughout her time with a program, Hepler said that she has witnessed a significant change in her mentees’ abilities. By making connections with them and giving simple encouragement, she says they have improved in terms of their organization, academic and social skills.

Disability services is looking to expand the program over time, including more people into their mentee group. The plan is to make Hand-in-Hand Alliance more inclusive by integrating those who feel alienated or excluded on campus into the group.

“[Hand-in-Hand Alliance] could make a lot of students who feel intimidated by college or those that feel Point Park only caters to a certain type of people feel a part of the campus and that they matter,” Hepler said.

Students that are interested in getting involved with the Hand-in-Hand Alliance can contact McClelland at [email protected] or Hepler at
[email protected] to apply.