Ally:
Hi everyone, my name is Ally, and I am a senior English major at the University of Connecticut. I love all things creative like writing, DIYs, baking, drawing, etc. As you can tell by my major, I also really love to read and explore different perspectives through the words on a page. I am a proud plant mom…although I am not sure how good I am at it. Last but not least, I am a vegetarian…or as I’m sometimes teased, a “veggie head.”
QUESTION: If you were an animal, what would you be?
I want to say an owl, because I like to observe. I usually find a perch off to the side somewhere and just people watch. I can be loud when I must, but I like to keep enough distance to fly away. People often don’t realize that I am actually quite shy. I tend to stay up very late as well, enjoying the quiet of the night. This is when I am typically the most productive, as I feel more at ease. I also excitedly want to be an owl because it is my favorite “animal”…bird to be more precise.
QUESTION: What is your favorite snack(s)?
Anyone who truly gets me knows that my favorite snacks are chex mix and twizzlers. Not the most healthy of options, but these are what I race into the gas station for on every long road trip. I will forgive almost anything for these two loves of mine.
QUESTION: What smell(s) do you like?
My favorite smell has to be warm cinnamon. Not the harsh cinnamon scent of a Yankee candle, but the soft wafting of cinnamon melting into warm applesauce on a fall day. The smell that places you in a big warm sweater that hugs every inch of your body, knees tucked under as well with an open book balancing on top of upright knee caps. A faint chill pinkens the tip of your nose as you inhale the spiced glory.
QUESTION: If you could pick one place in the world to live, where and why?
I am not sure I want to live anywhere right now. I want to float around, living various different lives, and collecting a jumbled group of friends. I haven’t seen enough of the world yet to decide where I’m going to end up. Maybe I will never end up anywhere…I will wait and see what the future has in store for me. I kind of like the idea of moving with the wind. Change doesn’t always have to be scary.
QUESTION: If someone asks what you mean by “access,” what would you say?
To me access is about compassion. It’s about a human understanding between all different people, living various different lifestyles within various different capabilities. To me access is a commitment to understand. To understand that everyone is fighting secret battles. To understand and live with different viewpoints, beliefs, or values even if we don’t always agree with them. Access is accepting and encouraging people to embrace differences. Access is providing accommodations that result in equality…not advantage, but a level playing field. To me access is about kindness. It is about loving everyone.
Ashten:
Hey everyone! I’m Ashten. I am a senior at the University of Connecticut. I am currently double majoring in Psychological Sciences and Human rights, with a minor in American Studies. I’m so thrilled to be a part of the amazing DAC team!
QUESTION: What word, phrase, or greeting would you associate with yourself?
I am a huge fan of words!
I love the nouns “tea,” “cats” and “friends.”
I love them even more when determiners allow there to be “plenty” or even just “enough.”
My favorite ways to verb around are by “giving,” “creating,” “laughing,” or simply “existing.”
Adjectives I’m fond of include “lovely,” “silly,” “resilient,” and “radical!”
I make sure to leave room for adverbs “boldly” and “joyfully.”
You’ll notice I can’t go without the conjunction “because.”
My most used contraction is “y’all” and my least used preposition is “in spite of”
My name’s Ashten and my pronouns are he/him/his. 🙂
QUESTION: If someone asks what you mean by “access,” what would you say?
I find that the question “What is Access?” is wayyyy more limited than the question I usually find myself asking: “What ISN’T Access?”
To me, access is not just about being able to physically exist in or enter a space. It is also about acknowledging the societal barriers that prevented access in the first place. Access is about affordability, community, adapting the way we think, the spaces we build, how we move, and how we communicate. Access encourages and allows diverse ways of interacting with the world. Access is about creation and reinvention.
As you may have noticed, I have not used the word Disability in my definition of access thus far. This is because, just like Disability, access is expansive, nuanced, and REALLY freaking cool.
QUESTION: If you could pick one place in the world to live, where and why?
I don’t think I have a dream destination in mind, as long as I have some cool people to pass the time with. I would like to see more of the world, but I would be just as content creating pockets of joy and light wherever I end up. Whether it’s an oceanside breath of wind, or a grimy gust stirred up my skateboard, I’ve learned to take comfort in the breeze.
Brenda Brueggemann:
^^ photo chosen because it is cropped from an image of Elisa & me at her “last dinner” together at UConn in early May 2023, at Kathmandu Cafe in Storrs, CT. (sorry, I cropped Elisa out… but she’s there in spirit! And she’s the generative force behind my smile here.)
Brenda Jo Brueggemann is Professor of English, American Studies, and Women’s, Gender, Sexuality Studies (WGSS) at the University of Connecticut where she also serves as the Aetna Endowed Chair of Writing. In the glorious summers, she teaches at the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College, Vermont. She has been deaf (genetic) from birth. After college, she taught high school in her rural Kansas community for five years before going back to graduate school. In the mid-1990s, bolstered by the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, she helped conceptualize the new field of Disability Studies. She has written, co-written, edited, or co-edited 16 books, including nine memoirs in the “Deaf Lives” series she created for Gallaudet University Press, and more than 75 essays and articles at the intersections of Deaf/Disability Studies and writing/art. Her current research centers on disability and deafness in the visual, literary, and performance arts and recovering the public histories of abandoned psychiatric institutions in the United States, especially the Mansfield Training School and its deeply connected relationship with the University of Connecticut. She has been an ardent fan of both active learning and accessible learning and teaching practices (UDL) for two decades now.
QUESTION: What word, phrase, or greeting would you associate with yourself?
Groovy. And this one has been with me for a long long time –since I was a groovy teen in the 1970s, in fact.
QUESTION: If you were a shape, what shape would you be?
Triangle or hexagram (double triangles)!! A triangle always breaks or unsettles (re-shapes) a binary. Go, triangles!!
QUESTION: What smell(s) do you like?
Deep woods, smoky smells, grassy-herbal smells. I have a Most Special Fav candle from a little place in the Flint Hills of Kansas, PrairieFire – Ad Astra. It’s divine and does truly smell like the Kansas (Konza) Prairie land in that area. (ad astra per aspera is the Kansas State motto, imprinted on the state flag. It means “to the stars, through difficulties”)
QUESTION: If you could pick one place in the world to live, where and why?
Maybe it seems weird… but my ♥️ is always in Louisville, KY. Looooooove that city/town on the Midwest/Southern border. Globally, my “one pick” city would definitely be Wein (Vienna, Austria).
QUESTION: What is your favorite snack(s)?
Waffle or lattice potato chips. No bag, of any size, is safe around me.
Elisa:
Hi everyone! My name is Elisa, and I’m a soon-to-be graduate at UConn (August 2023). I majored in English and Economics, and went on to do a Masters in Economics too (though, just between us, I’d immediately jump at taking a literature class over any quantitative economics class any day). We’re all so excited for this DAC Blog and hope you enjoy all the wonderful content we have coming!
QUESTION: If you were an animal, what animal would you be?
I’ve always loved bunnies. My extended family had rabbits and bunnies and I’d play with them as a child, so they’ve always had a special place in my heart. I like how, for as cute and small as they are, they’re strong and capable too. So if I was an animal, I’d hope I was one of them.
QUESTION: What smell(s) do you like?
I’ll always love the smell of vanilla. Lemons too. Caramel as well. Honestly as long as the scent isn’t super fruity or woodsy, odds are I’ll love it.
QUESTION: What is your favorite season and why?
I’m a November baby so I’m biased to autumn. I love New England because we can enjoy the fall for all that nature provides during it. The leaves, the rain, having to wear boots and a jacket… I’ll never get sick of it!
QUESTION: If you could pick one place in the world to live, where and why?
I always wanted to try living in another country by myself, push myself to try something adventurous like that. I’ll be living in Turkey soon for Fulbright, right by the sea. It is scary but also exhilarating.
Hannah:
Greetings fellow crows! Welcome to the Disability & Access Collective! I’m Hannah, a Vietnamese-American student majoring in English at the University of Connecticut. As a book and poetry enthusiast, I aspire to someday make a name for myself in the writing and publishing community. Happy to make your acquaintance!
QUESTION: If you were an animal, what would you be?
Definitely a flamingo! I’m an avid lover of the color pink, and their pink feathers are stunning. Like flamingos, I love shrimp, and the majority of seafood in general. People have said I have a silly sense of humor, and to me, flamingos are such goofy birds.
QUESTION: What smell(s) do you like?
My favorite scent is strawberry pound cake (as of late, it’s my signature perfume)! For the most part, I love super sweet smells (ex. vanilla, baked sweets, desserts), but I also love the smell of bitter coffee in cafes, freshly-printed books, and wildflowers.
QUESTION: What is your favorite snack(s)?
I’m not really a snacker, but I do like chocolate pretzels, popcorn, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, chocolate-flavored Pocky, and lots of fruit (ex. I love super crunchy grapes). Don’t get me wrong. I’m a foodie at heart.
QUESTION: If someone asks what you mean by “access,” what would you say?
My answer is relatively simple for a complex question. To me, “access” is making everyone feel like they’re welcomed or they belong by ensuring everyone is comfortable and their needs are accommodated for. Since I joined the team, I’ve learned a lot about the importance of “access” as there are several kinds of people in the world, and a huge part of being on the team is advocating for the needs of everyone. We all need a place to belong after all.
Madison:
Hi all! My name is Madison and I’m a senior English major with a concentration in Creative Writing and a minor in Sociology. In my free time, I have a pretty dedicated yoga practice and love to take walks with my three rescue dogs. I’m so happy that you’re here and forever grateful to be a part of the amazing DAC team!
QUESTION: If you were an animal, what would you be?
if i were an animal, i think i’d be a cat— i consider myself a pretty curious person and i love the challenge of learning something new about the world around me, often through ‘unconventional’ circumstances. i also love to take naps (like most other cats i know!).
QUESTION: What word, phrase, or greeting would you associate with yourself?
i’ve been really drawn to the word ‘awesome’ recently. it’s one of those words that feels good to say, and also makes other people feel good too! it also tends to remind me that even the smallest things in life can be awe-inspiring if you take enough time to notice and appreciate them.
QUESTION: If you were a shape, what shape would you be?
this was a hard question (lol!), but i think i’ve settled on being a circle. A circle is forever moving and is in consistent connection with itself. I myself feel like I am always moving — not necessarily forward or backwards, but just in persistent motion — and always strive to maintain a connection with myself.
QUESTION: What smell(s) do you like?
i love the smell of hot coffee. no matter the time of day or the weather outside, i think it’s such a comforting and cozy scent.
QUESTION: What is your favorite season of the year and why?
my favorite season is autumn. not only is it visually stunning, but to me, the fall time signifies both a period of renewal and of maturation. as the leaves turn brown and the weather cools, the season offers a mixture of growth and new opportunities. life often balances these two, sometimes contradictory, states of being, and autumn so keenly reflects this relationship to me in the natural world.
QUESTION: If you could pick one place in the world to live, where and why?
if i could live in any place in the world, i’d love to live on a grassy little farm with a small stream in the backyard. i love to be outside, so it would be so lovely to have my own small garden, maybe a sheep or two, and be surrounded by buzzing of crickets and bubbling of the river.
QUESTION: If someone asks what you mean by “access,” what would you say?
to me, access is first and foremost synonymous with community. one of the most important things i’ve learned since starting my work with the DAC blog is that it is so extremely important to resist the temptation to understand disability in individualized contexts. while disability is something that impacts people in intimate, personal ways, advocacy for justice cannot exist without collectivism. Recognizing common threads that run through so many people’s experiences with disability is crucial in creating access, or a space in which conversations and progress can be generated. to create access is to create a more inclusive community, and vice versa. one component is nonexistent without the other.
Psyche:
Psyche Z. Ready is a PhD student in English at UConn who specializes in Writing Studies and Disability Studies. She grew up in Pennsylvania but has lived in seven different states across the country. She has worked nearly every job imaginable–from painter of walking canes to kebob-maker to salesperson of educational zoo rides. Most recently, she was a social worker for a decade before deciding to go to grad school and fell in love with teaching. She has OCD and is committed to spreading awareness of the disorder, since misunderstanding led to her late-in-life diagnosis. She loves cats, chocolate, and walking in nature.
QUESTION: What word, phrase, or greeting would you associate with yourself?
When I love people, I tend to call them “muffin.”
QUESTION: If you were a shape, what shape would you be?
My undergraduate thesis, published in 2000, was titled “Song of the Sacred Triangle.” I love triangles and feel a spiritual affinity with them. But realistically, I think I’m probably more of a wobbly and shifting shape!
QUESTION: What smells do you like?
I’m extremely sensitive to smells, so mine are a bit weird. I love the smell of freshly bleached laundry; heirloom roses; lilacs in the spring; damp leaves on the forest floor; the wet smell of a fast-moving river; and the warm furry smell of my cats’ heads.
QUESTION: If you could pick one place in the world to live, where and why?
I lived in Portland, Oregon for about a decade and absolutely loved it there. The dancing, the gluten free cupcakes, the moderate weather year-round, but especially the mountains and the ocean.
QUESTION: What is your favorite snack?
Ritter Sport milk chocolate with whole hazelnuts. During the pandemic I ordered a case of them.
QUESTION: If someone asks what you mean by “access,” what would you say?
Access means you can do something without experiencing any restrictions. And restrictions can be sensory, physical, but they can also be psychological, emotional, social. Just because something is legally or technically possible, that does not mean it is accessible. Access encompasses literal and perceived safety, belonging, and freedom.
QUESTION: If you were an animal, what animal would you be?
“Psyche” in ancient Greek means “soul,” but it also means “butterfly.” All my life I’ve felt like one.
QUESTION: What is your favorite season, and why?
Without question, Spring. I love being outside, I love flowers, and I love it when my plants start to grow!
Disability & Access Collective 