Sonoran Center Holds Annual Trainee Symposium
The symposium audience watches Yolanda Reyes' presentation, "Early Intervention Services: Importance and Relevance"
On Friday, April 28, the Sonoran Center hosted its annual Trainee Symposium, showcasing the results of months of hard work and dedicated research by this year’s cohort of trainees. This year’s cohort included students from the Undergraduate Certificate in Developmental Disabilities, the Disability Policy Fellowship, the Diversity Fellowship, and the Interdisciplinary Approach to Disability Internship. The students presented summaries of their projects to an audience of Sonoran Center staff, Department of Family and Community Medicine affiliated faculty, friends and relatives, and their fellow trainees. The symposium also featured presentations from other students who have worked with the Sonoran Center from various departments, and from Northern Arizona University.
The presentations were divided into four categories: Health & Wellness, Innovative & Best Practices, Community Engagement & Information Dissemination, and Advocacy & Systemic Change — with four to five presentations per category.
Freya Abraham gives her presentation, "Understanding Policies that Affect Care Access for People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities"
Some presentations, like “Understanding the Needs of Refugees with Disabilities” by Isabella Russel and Alexis Gradillas, focused on the conditions of specific populations. Others, like “Early Intervention Services: Importance and Relevance” by Yolanda Reyes, explored ways to improve accessibility in institutions. Every presentation gave valuable insight into the experience of people with disabilities today.
Each presenter or group of presenters, brought a poster as a visual aid, as well as a short PowerPoint presentation. The BIO 5 conference room, where the symposium was held, was lined wall-to-wall with these posters, each with infographics detailing the students’ methodology and conclusions. You can view the posters here
Amber Owens explains her poster detailing her project, "Disability Perspectives: The effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Daily Lives of People With Intellectual Disabilities"
With so much to learn, there was something new for everyone in attendance.
Congratulations to our 2023 cohort of trainees!