Despite major surgeries, social stigmas, an assault and a cancer diagnosis, Eddy Crossman and Andrew Benbenek made it to Syracuse University.

The freshman best friends are part of The Lawrence B. Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education, an SU program founded in 2009 to increase opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities. The center is one of 270 inclusive higher education programs in the United States, according to the National Coordinating Center.

The program works to fully immerse each student in campus life and culture, said Beth Myers, executive director of The Taishoff Center. The center offers daily seminars to help students best navigate university life and recently launched a residential program for its students to live in on-campus housing.

Through the center’s initiative, InclusiveU, students enroll in university-wide classes to receive a certificate of completion. Myers said the program focuses on students with a variety of disabilities, including Down syndrome and autism, who do not traditionally attend college. The program serves as a model for inclusive post-secondary education based on research to promote similar programs at universities across the country.

The state of New York leads the country in the number of higher education programs for students with intellectual disabilities, coming in at 31 overall. Massachusetts ranks second at 21, according to the NCC study.

For students who live in states without higher education programs that cater to their needs, furthering education and achieving career goals isn’t as feasible. After one year of leaving high school, up to a third of former students are fully disengaged with both work and postsecondary education, according to a Washington state legislator.

When the outdoor retail store Benbenek worked at closed earlier this year, he was left without a job. While the change allowed him to take more classes and immerse himself in campus life, he worries about finding a job in the future. He said it’s difficult for someone with a disability to get hired in the first place. Had it not been for a personal connection with one of the managers at his previous job, he said he may not have been hired.

Benbenek is able to pursue a career in sports marketing with the work experience guidance offered through InclusiveU, an opportunity he thought he would never have.

“I wanted to go to SU when I was about 6 years old,” said Benbenek, holding back tears. “Once I did go through brain cancer, and the effects and everything, I didn’t think I was ever going to do that (attend SU).”

When he made it to campus, Benbenek met Crossman at orientation and the pair clicked right away. Having navigated medical conditions since they were young, including a spinal surgery Crossman underwent as a teenager, the pair connects in a way most others simply cannot.

Through activism, the two fight political and social stigmas. Benbenek is able to share his story with the platform InclusiveU has given him and Crossman has written letters to state officials to fight disability discrimination. The letters include the challenges he faces from others’ perceptions of people with disabilities.

Eddy Crossman (above) is a freshman in Syracuse University’s InclusiveU program. He is pursuing a career in culinary arts and is an activist in the persons with intellectual disabilities community.
Paul Schlesinger | Asst. Photo Editor

“I was with one of our friends at Archbold, and (a student) asked us what is our disability, and I did not say anything because it made me feel uncomfortable,” Crossman said. “A lot of people don’t understand where people with disabilities come from and how they want to be treated.”

If he wasn’t enrolled at SU, Crossman said he would likely spend most of his time at home in Syracuse’s Westside, unable to explore culinary arts. His neighborhood is notoriously dangerous, said Crossman, who was once assaulted while walking to church. The incident flared his migraines after years of being dormant.

“I’m coming from a neighborhood in the city of Syracuse where there is a lot of trouble,” Crossman said.“If it wasn’t for the staff here … helping me get into this program, and my grandmother taking me back and forth from home, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t have met a whole bunch of people that I care about.”

Said Crossman: “I’m one of the luckiest guns in this world right now.”

Published on October 4, 2017 at 12:07 am

Contact Lydia: lnilesst@syr.edu