Disability Perspectives

Disability Perspectives highlights life stories of disabled people/people with disabilities from the campus community. All are welcome join and learn from those experiences and stories.

This drop-in event will feature university community members (students, faculty, and staff) who identify as having a disability/being disabled, sharing their stories in 15-minutes sessions. Below are the confirmed speakers:

• Nikki Marchand: Way’ Islaxtlaxts (Hello Friends), my name is Nikki Marchand and I am a member of the Syilx (Okanagan) Nation, a graduate of the Bachelor of Arts Degree at UBC Okanagan, and I now work as an Indigenous Student Advisor for Indigenous Programs and Services. As an Indigenous woman who has experienced both visible and invisible disabilities and I am honoured to share my personal story in hopes of reaching others in the UBC community. I am a strong advocate for our Indigenous students to build a supportive and healthy life during their years at UBCO. I aim to bring awareness to the multi-faceted approach that UBC Okanagan has to offer those with accessibility needs.
• Carrie Mitchell is a Fine Arts student at UBCO who lives on the unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan. She creates art to synthesize her experiences of mysticism and the temporal nature of human existence. As mature student, Carrie will share a poem about navigating labels and masking neuro-complexities in higher education settings.
• Sebastian Kolesar is an International Student Advisor and Immigration Consultant with the Global Engagement Office, and has been present on the Okanagan campus for the past 10 years as a student, student staff member, and professional staff member. His experience as a neurodiverse professional has been almost entirely informed and co-created by the relationships he has cultivated during his time at UBC. Sebastian will unpack the non-linear and individualized experience of navigating the academy and workplace as a person who has been diagnosed as being neurodivergent. Sebastian hopes to convey the message that neurodiversity is a spectrum, and that the indicators of “ability”, “performance”, and “reliability” are often incompatible with the pervasive experience of being a neurodiverse person.
• Aidan Gibbons is a 19-year-old social impact leader, co-founder of the nonprofit Inspired 2 Uplift, and a second-year Business Management student at UBCO. Passionate about youth leadership and inclusivity, he advocates for empowering communities through support networks. He will share his journey from overcoming challenges as a visually impaired youth to co-founding Inspired 2 Uplift. His talk highlights the transformative power of support networks in empowering marginalized communities and fostering resilience, demonstrating how inclusive, peer-led initiatives can drive meaningful social change.

If you require any accommodations or have accessibility needs, please note them in advance.