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Commissioner Julie Hocker graduating from the UNC
Kenan-Flagler Business School
By Julie Hocker, Commissioner,
Administration on Disabilities
At ACL, we believe that people of all ages, with and without
disabilities should be able to live, grow, learn, and work side by side.
Community living makes all of us, and our shared future, stronger. Our
mission is to make it possible for all people.
To that end, we administer programs that tackle a lot of the
problems faced by older adults and people with disabilities that can make
community living difficult. Some of these programs provide services
and supports, while others focus on research, training and education, and
innovation. Most do more than one of these, and a few do all of
them. They look different in many ways, but they share a common
foundation – a focus on setting high expectations for all.
We know that high expectations are crucial to making
community living possible for people with disabilities. This is even more
important for people with developmental disabilities, who often face even
greater challenges and barriers to inclusion.
Expectations of parents, doctors, and teachers, along with
those of our friends, employers and others in our lives, help set the stage
for what we achieve in life. Perhaps most important, they help shape our
expectations for ourselves -- which ultimately determine our futures.
I know this better than many.
Growing up with brittle bones, I wasn’t always eager or
encouraged to take risks or to push myself into uncomfortable situations.
As a child, I worried I would get hurt or into a situation I couldn’t get
myself out of. My family and I often struggled to put those fears aside.
We didn’t quite know how to support and challenge a kid like me – a kid
with a significant disability—to set the same kinds of ambitious goals
for my education and career that my classmates at school and my older
siblings were setting.
Fortunately, I had many teachers and mentors who helped my
family and me think bigger, including Dan, a boss from early in my
career.
One day, as a meeting was wrapping up, that boss asked me an
unexpected question:
“What are you doing?”
I looked at him, not really sure what he was talking about.
“… with your life,” he added. “What’s the plan?”
I was still confused, so he helped me out.
“Business school. You should think about going to business
school.”
My first thought was, “Doesn’t he get that people like
me don’t go to graduate school?” But when I started to explain why I
couldn’t, he didn’t give up. Instead, he invited me to his office to go
over schools I should apply to.
In that moment, Dan saw what I couldn’t. He saw what I was
truly capable of achieving. And, thankfully, he stood ready to help me
find the courage and confidence I needed to succeed.
Again and again, he was there to set the bar high – for the
schools I applied to, the courses I took, and the internships I went
after.
A few months into business school, during one of our weekly
calls, he issued another challenge.
“Hey, driving,” he said. “It’s time.”
I am sure I tried to tell him that he didn’t understand,
that I could never do it. But Dan saw the way forward, and he helped me
see it, too.
I got my driver’s license that summer. And through these
experiences, I began to see the world, and my opportunities in it, much
differently.
I am honored to work with programs that demolish barriers
and empower people with disabilities to set and accomplish ambitious
goals that lead to living and thriving in communities across our nation.
I am proud of the work we are doing together to support families in
raising their children with disabilities to dream big dreams and achieve
them.
I saw this up close when I recently visited an early
childhood center with Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan. The center is
partnering with the Georgetown University Center for Excellence in
Developmental Disabilities to create an inclusive environment where
children with disabilities learn and get services alongside peers without
disabilities. Everyone – the center’s staff, the children’s parents, and
the service providers – work together to set a high bar for all children.
And I saw it last week when I visited the Center for Independent
Living in Central Florida which is providing mentoring, job
coaching, and on-site training to individuals with disabilities who are
starting their careers, getting their first job offers, learning about
supports and accommodations that can maximize their job performance, and
planning for a lifetime of working hard. As my own experience
illustrates, that mentoring – having someone push you to achieve more
than you think you can – can be life changing. I am proud of our work to
connect people with disabilities to those mentors, particularly peer
mentors, who personify the possibilities people otherwise may not see for
themselves.
Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month kicked off on
Friday, and throughout the month, we are joining the DD network in
highlighting the benefits we all share when people with and without
disabilities come together to form vibrant, diverse communities. I invite
you to join us – the DD
Awareness Month web page can help you get started.
I also hope you will join us in in raising the bar and
setting higher expectations for yourself, those around you, and your
community. Together, we can knock down barriers – both seen and unseen –
and make our vision of community living for all a reality.
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