In the realm of educational support and empowerment the past twenty years, few programs shineas brightly as INCIGHT’s signature initiative: the INCIGHT Scholarship. Launched as the very first endeavor of the organization, this program stands as a testament to INCIGHT’s commitment to fostering the success of students with disabilities.
The intent behind the program was to award and encourage students with disabilities
pursuing additional education after high school. To date, INCIGHT has awarded over 1,010 scholarships to students with disabilities continuing their education—whether that be
2- or 4-year college, trade school or a certificate program. INCIGHT’s mission to Change Heartsand Minds, Leverage Obstacles and Unlock Potential is realized through this initiative, an initiative which has helped us connect with individuals at this important time in their lives.
Diving into the story behind this program, one discovers the many students who have benefited from INCIGHT’s support, and who have also been willing to share their experiences and successes with INCIGHT over the years. From their stories, lessons were created to support younger students with disabilities so they in turn could experience similar success and growth from this knowledge.
From the start, the founders of INCIGHT desired to see more students with disabilities going to college, pursuing careers and living independent lives. In 2003, even before receiving their non-profit status, the team awarded the first INCIGHT Scholarship to Netsanet Muleta, a soon-to-be high school graduate. Netsanet attended Roosevelt High School in North Portland and, as fate would have it, her future career would lead to her working for Portland Public Schools (PPS) in their Language Access Programs.
Netsanet emigrated to the US from Ethiopia with her family when she was 15 years old. Netsanet experienced setbacks at times in high school, but she was continually given support from her family and community. She wants high school students that might be going through difficult times to know, “It gets better.” She says, “High school... and the struggles you might experience... aren’t it, it gets better.” She was nominated for the INCIGHT Scholarship by her high school career counselor, Kathy Fong Stevens. Netsanet is modest about her own achievements and, with a charismatic smile, shares that it is her community that is owed much of the credit for her strength and success. It’s people like Kathy, who believed in her, that kept Netsanet continuing to strive to do more and achieve her goals. From her parents, to teachers, to Scott and the INCIGHT team, to her friend and work colleague Vang Sang, Netsanet credits her supportive family and community with giving her strength.
On the day of the awards ceremony, the founding team presented a huge, 2x4-foot check to Netsanet at her high school auditorium. It was a big deal for her. It was an even bigger deal for Scott and the new team at INCIGHT; their dreams were being realized. Scott recalls that they debated who should present the check on stage, wanting INCIGHT and its first scholar to feel celebrated in every way during a high school awards presentation.
"Awarding our very first scholarship to Netsanet was an unforgettable moment for all of us. We were filled with pride, gratitude and hope.” said Scott Hatley, an INCIGHT co-founder, “It felt like the start of a dream seeing our vision coming to life. This moment was not just about providing financial support—it was about recognizing Netsanet’s journey and affirming our belief in her potential to make an impact. I was so proud and inspired to be a part of her journey.”
After her high school graduation, Netsanet attended Portland State University where she ultimately pursued her goal majoring in Communications. After college graduation, Netsanet leveraged her knowledge of speaking two Ethiopian languages (Aromo and Amharic) from her youth, and she began a career interpreting with a Portland company called Passport. This position led to additional knowledge- and skill-building in areas that were important to her career trajectory. Netsanet helped Passport with administrative and accounting matters, and these skills translated to her role and understanding within PPS and their Language Access Programs. While the field of interpreting was not originally part of her career plan, as she explains it, ”life guided” her to her current role where she utilizes her knowledge to support people who are experiencing something similar to what her family experienced when she moved to the US in 2000. Families with language barriers can experience misunderstandings in the education system; some confusions arise from the language barrier specifically, others from cultural or systematic misunderstandings. Netsanet is in an important position to help them through these moments, to better address children’s needs, whether they are struggling or succeeding in school. The school district and the families are fortunate to have her expertise in this role.
The public perception of disability has changed over the years, and we feel that, more than ever, people have more understanding and greater expectations for people experiencing disabilities. Still, things haven’t shifted overnight, and INCIGHT’s work breaking the stigmas surrounding disabilities is at times more difficult. Another INCIGHT Scholar, Susan Anderson, recently shared that she plans to share her perspective in a new series of books written for children. We are looking forward to reading her books. Susan describes herself as deaf and she is proud to be a contributing member of society. Susan and her husband Mayan are both working to contribute to society while simultaneously raising a three-year-old child. Additionally, the two give back to their community by serving as board members of an organization called CymaSpace that is pushing the boundaries around technology for communication between the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities and the non-deaf communities.
Over the years, we have met so many different individuals that experience a huge variety of disabilities and are pursuing so many different goals in their lives. We learn so much from INCIGHT program participants, both what they struggled with and how they were able to leverage obstacles to pursue their dreams in life.
"From the beginning, INCIGHT has been about providing the tools and resources for people with disabilities to reach their fullest potential.” Scott said, "We believe strongly in the power of expectations in helping to elevate the people we serve.”
As Scott explains, “We want to move the world with people experiencing disabilities. It is a partnership. Our role is to offer the resources and support needed for them to create their own success, to lead, and to thrive on their terms."
While the scholarship program was the start of INCIGHT’s offerings to the community, as INCIGHT grew, the team developed learning resources for students in high school. In the hopes of creating a sustainable resource for income, a workbook of activity sheets was designed to help high school students experiencing disabilities prepare for life after high school. We still meet teachers and families who love and remember those old paper workbooks. The expectation-driven lessons are a curated collection taught by INCIGHT scholars, jobseekers and community members who experience disabilities and can share their personal understandings and some of the insights they’ve gained.
From the start, INCIGHT’s founders felt that society at large, and HR professionals and hiring managers in particular, should have more expectation for those employees and jobseekers experiencing disabilities. In 2011, another set of programs was developed to help jobseekers and employers make connections. Live Resume, Meet Business and job fair events were launched with key community partners, including Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU), and their Night for Networking event was developed. These programs helped us to begin to develop relationships with employment partners, while introducing jobseekers with disabilities. At an OHSU Night for Networking event, INCIGHT scholar Wes Studer secured an internship which developed into a longer-term future career. Wes is the Administrative Coordinator at the Center for Learner Diversity & Inclusion at OHSU. He says, “I consider obtaining this role to be one of my greatest accomplishments, and I'm looking forward to contributing to the further empowerment and support of those in under-served and under-represented communities.”
So much of INCIGHT’s growth and success has dovetailed with the accomplishments and milestones of the people participating in our programs. Another person INCIGHT worked with during an employment-related program was Sam Bridgman. Sam worked on resumé writing and networking with the team at INCIGHT, which helped him land a paid internship at Nike. Sam continued his education in Sports Management and worked for a National Hockey League team. He is currently looking for another meaningful position and he says, “When kids in wheelchairs (or any minority) are able to grow up and see people that look like them doing things that make a positive impact on society, then those kids will grow up believing that they too can do that.” We look forward to seeing where Sam continues his career.
It can be tricky when you are dealing with a new diagnosis or a diagnosis that might impact your career-related activities. Over the years, INCIGHT has helped individuals navigate the waters of disclosing their disability and asking for accommodations. With our experience in this area of employment and through the experiences of our scholars, we continue to develop the INCIGHTful Curriculum and are also developing professional development training for managers and HR professionals. This learning and development has to happen on both sides of the equation. Beginning in 2018, INCIGHT worked with Portland-based employers to share this knowledge. This program was called Activate. It has since evolved into what is currently called INCIGHT’s Disability Awareness workshops, which are being conducted in collaboration with more than five Pacific NW-based businesses. At a recent meeting with Kaysha Duffy of OnPoint Community Credit Union, she remarked of INCIGHT’s superpower of being able to do as much as we do with such a small team. As Kaysha says, “It's been amazing to see such a small and mighty team doing so much for the community.”
Over the years the Job Fairs have developed in a special style and have been a huge success connecting employers with jobseekers. Currently we are hosting a Job Fair every other month. Another INCIGHT employment program called GetAhead promotes career readiness training for jobseekers to develop skills to showcase their talents in preparing for interviews, writing resumes and other hiring processes.
As INCIGHT has grown, we have experienced success and demand for our programs, concurrently we have seen a huge number of achievements for so many people experiencing disabilities. As we celebrate our Twentieth Year, we also toast the individuals in our INCIGHT family who have also accomplished so much over the years. We were excited to share that our first scholar, Netsanet Muleta, achieved another goal this past year—she married the love of her life. Netsanet sees a future pursuing a path promoting her faith and helping others. We are so happy for her and wish her and all members of the INCIGHT family the best as they embark upon their next milestones. We also look forward to INCIGHT’s next 20 years of growth...changing hearts and minds, leveraging obstacles and unlocking potential.
Pia Gilgen is the Director of Education at INCIGHT. She coordinates a small team of educators and media team to develop video lessons and learning materials. Additionally, she administers INCIGHT's Scholarship Program for students with disabilities who are pursuing
post-secondary education.
Comments