Meet Student Disabilities Advocate and Kid City Member Naty Rico

My name is Naty and I am physically disabled; I use a forearm crutch on my right arm that helps me walk and stay balanced. I’m also a Latina and first-generation college graduate from University of California Irvine (UCI), class of 2017. My story is one that isn’t often told. 

I was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles and am the oldest of three children. My parents immigrated from Mexico before I was born. Despite the fact that their education ended in elementary school, they always instilled in their children the value of education. But growing up, I didn’t know anyone in my community who attended college, and it seemed like a far-fetched idea for someone like me, whom I considered an average student, to attend college. Luckily, I had a lot of support from mentors and family who encouraged me to apply to college. I was simultaneously stunned and thrilled to be accepted into UCI. 

As excited as I was, I worried about getting around campus with my physical disability. My fears were confirmed. During my first quarter at UCI, I struggled to get around school. After ten minutes of walking, my legs would start to hurt and I would quickly lose my breath from exhaustion. This worsened when the ground was uneven, or when I carried added weight such as a backpack full of books. Often while on my way to class, I had to decide between walking long distances or cutting across the park in the middle of campus so I could make it to class on time. The park had uneven paths, causing me to trip and fall on my knees, aggravating the same wound every time. This happened so frequently that I sought support from counselors, faculty, staff, peers, and the Disability Center — I reached out to every resource on campus and continuously reached dead ends. What I really needed that these resources couldn’t provide was an electric wheelchair to get around campus independently without injuring myself. The problem was that these chairs were very expensive — about $2,000. (There’s often a misconception that mobility devices are covered by medical insurance, but this is not the case.) There was no way as a low-income student receiving financial aid, that I could afford to buy one.

I was devastated. I thought I’d overcome my biggest hurdle — gaining acceptance into UCI, which I worked so hard to do. I was convinced I’d lose my opportunity to get a college degree simply because of my mobility challenges. I didn’t know any other disabled students at UCI at the time, so I also felt isolated and depressed, believing these experiences were unique to me and that non-disabled peers and professionals didn’t understand the effects of inaccessibility on campus. My struggle with mental health led me to fall into academic probation and I feared I would be dropped from the university. That’s when I reached out to Kid City Hope Place, a college-access and completion organization in Los Angeles. 

Kid City provides mentorship, leadership development, and college enrollment support for first-generation students. Their team helped me map out the college application and financial aid process. Although their work doesn’t specifically focus on disability needs, they recognized my challenge as a college completion issue. Kid City reached out to partners in the Irvine community and were contacted by a couple who donated a power scooter they no longer needed. Kid City’s efforts transformed my collegiate life: I was able to effortlessly get to class without having to leave my dorm an hour early and still make it on time, I wasn’t physically tired anymore, my injuries began to heal, and I had a lot more time and energy I could dedicate to my academics and student-life activities.  

Through this experience, I recognized there is a lot of work to be done to support disabled students on college campuses, and I wanted to ensure disabled students like me didn’t have to endure the same physical, social and emotional challenges I did while trying to get an education. I decided to become a disability affairs advocate on campus to increase awareness and meet accessibility needs of students. 

The second quarter of my freshman year, after almost having to drop out my first quarter, I campaigned for a campus initiative to improve accessibility for campus shuttles and further fund the golf cart system that transported students on campus. I provided consultation to the campus orientation program to provide accessible housing during their overnight programs in the summer, and I began to give presentations at conferences throughout California and nationally. I serve on the board of Kid City Hope Place, advocating for student-centered programming as an alumnus of the program. I also support disabled students in learning how to navigate college and teach skills that promote self-advocacy in education, employment, and living support services. My goal is to improve the educational outcomes of disabled students in higher education by influencing policy and increasing institutional support.

According to the 2015-16 National Center for Educational Statistics, 19% of all undergraduate students in the United States are disabled and only about 35% graduate from 4-year institutions. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to improve the college completion rates for disabled students. I continue to support students, teach educators, and create systemic change. 

Many believe the onus rests solely on disability centers to support disabled students, but this is a team effort and the responsibility falls on all of student affairs and college-access organizations to ensure every student can graduate from college and reap the benefits a degree brings. 

Disability issues are college-access issues. Just like Kid City was able to think outside the box to provide the support I needed, other organizations should take on the challenge to provide resources and address concerns before disabled students enroll in college.