Through the Semester in the City SITC @ UNH program, COLA and Carsey student Sawyer Rogers '22 (History and Political Science double major, and accelerated master’s in Public Administration) interned right here on campus with the UNH Institute on Disability to provide more access and understanding of disability statistics through the development of a curriculum. The disability statistics curriculum will be a free online module course that covers disability, statistics, and how they intersect. Sawyer additionally organized focus groups with students, staff, and faculty to gather feedback on the curriculum. During these focus groups, Sawyer collected and distributed data while also educating around disability, accessibility, and statistics.
Disability statistics are valuable as they help individuals make informed decisions – policymakers, advocacy groups, and researchers utilize these statistics compiled by the Institute on Disability. Some of the specific statistics compiled include type of disability, prevalence of disability, employment, poverty, income, health, and education. The benefit of the curriculum is that it creates easier access to learn how to interpret and use disability statistics, which inform individuals on how to change society to better support people with disabilities. Keeping our society sustainable means continuous improvement for the good health and wellbeing of all students, as sustainability’s many different interconnected areas for societal thriving include the environment, economy, equity and culture and social wellbeing.
Sawyer credits his work with SITC @ UNH for giving him valuable career skills, time to reflect on what he wants to do for a living, the opportunity to try something new, and to meet lots of new people. Sawyer enjoyed his experience and is excited to continue working at the Institute on Disability.
To learn more about disability statistics explore the Institute on Disability’s annual report and compendium.
Learn more about Semester in the City internship opportunities in Boston and Durham.
