In June of 2021, the Office of Disability Services welcomed a new Assistant Director. Jordan Grammas, a two-time Ball State Alumna, shared how her interest in working within the Office started all the way back during her Undergraduate years. Grammas was registered under the DS office and attributes a lot of her academic successes to the support she received from the office. She explained, “Courtney, the Director of Disability Services, helped and mentored me throughout my time at BSU and continues to do so as my boss. At the end of my senior year, I received the Fehribach Award. This is given to students during the Disability Services’ Awards Ceremony in recognition of academic achievement, campus involvement, and promoting access for students with disabilities. This sparked my interest in working with students with disabilities in higher education.” She went on to describe how she was a practicum student within the DS office during while getting her Masters, and how the experience really solidified what she wanted to do.
Now, in her role, she has a variety of goals she hopes to achieve. A big one that she shared she has had since her time in grad school is creating an early start/move in program for incoming students registered under the DS office. She shared her passion for helping students with
disabilities during transitional periods, and how she’d love to be able to provide support to students during not only that transitional period, but also through periods of transitioning between graduation and employment. Grammas shared how she would love to do more programming with the career center for students under the DS office.
One thing that Grammas shared as a challenge for her with this role was her own transition from being a Ball State student to a Ball State employee. She had been a student here for six years prior to starting and shared how starting over the summer really prepared her for the Fall Semester. But, also, she shared that the people in the office have also played a huge part in making the transition easier— “Everyone in the office has been so welcoming, kind, and supportive. They are less like co-workers and more like family. I’m excited to come to work every day and lucky to be surrounded by an amazing work family.”
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