The Provost’s Leadership Academy helped put Brenda Barrio’s plan in motion, and now it’s up and roaring. The ROAR (Responsibility, Opportunity, Advocacy, and Respect) program launched this fall, welcoming an inaugural cohort of five students.
The two-year program offers students with intellectual or developmental disabilities individualized programs of study in education, social skills and vocational training. Barrio hatched the idea years ago, but her time in the Provost’s Leadership Academy in 2016-17 helped make the innovative program a reality.
“In the PLA I learned to navigate the system, how to lead, and build a consensus,” Barrio says.
That consensus was key to launching ROAR, which Barrio hustled to get off the ground this fall. The initial program costs were covered by donors, but ROAR is on schedule to be self-sustaining in the years to come. Applications opened in April and the enthusiastic students arrived last month. The five ROAR students live on campus, audit classes and take specialized workshops, training seminars and career development courses. They also visit Barrio’s office often to check in and share their progress.
“Our students are really making a big leap, especially living on their own for the first time,” says Barrio, who is serving as interim director or ROAR while the program seeks a permanent director. “They’re really excited and very grateful for the opportunities. They’re enjoying auditing classes, and the faculty working with them have been amazing.”
The ROAR students are also taking on internships in their respective areas of interest. Barrio learned that setting up the internship component required relationship-building and she’s thrilled with the way the community has embraced the students.
Eventually the program will support 10 students and even further embody the land-grant mission of access and opportunity. The ROAR program is just the seventh college program of its kind in the country, establishing WSU as a leader in serving developmentally disabled students.
Barrio is particularly proud of the program. She developed a passion for working with developmentally disabled students during her undergraduate days at the University of North Texas. Barrio volunteered for a therapeutic riding program and loved working with the enthusiastic students. She earned her Ph.D in Special Education at North Texas joined the College of Education faculty in 2013.
Barrio was nominated for the PLA in 2016 and at the kickoff retreat she quickly developed a network of colleagues that encouraged her to fully embrace her vision for ROAR.
“The Provost’s Leadership Academy provides much more than most professional development opportunities,” she says. “It really provides the strategies and tools, but also the human contact. Just being in the room with other faculty and staff from around WSU gave me a totally new perspective, and connections that I never had before.”