The Future Is Now

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Patricia Moody - Photo by Betsy Hansen

Patricia Moody was born with Down syndrome 32 years ago. It was a time when change was in the wind for individuals born with conditions that lead to intellectual disabilities, and Patricia made the most of the opportunities presented. She completed Sebastian River High School and went on to pursue many of her dreams and accepted new challenges. When the next breath of change breezed by over a year ago, Patricia – in her usual fashion – flew with it. 

Last fall the charismatic redhead arrived on the campus of the University of Central Florida (UCF) as one of six members of the founding class of the new Inclusive Education Services program. Today she is back in Orlando pursuing her sophomore year.

The program at UCF is one of over 200 in the country that gives individuals with intellectual disabilities the chance to go to college. However, UCF differs from many of the other schools in that it provides total immersion into college life and total integration into the student body – from classes and dorm life to clubs, extracurricular activities and amenities. Patricia audited two courses of her choice each semester last year and lived in the 600-person Neptune dorm. She joined clubs, worked out regularly in the Recreation and Wellness Center and attended campus concerts and sports events.

It was an eventful year, measured in new friends, new experiences and especially a new sense of independence. “For me college means freedom,” she says. Her mother Nancy agrees, “Patricia wanted more independence and was ready for it and for another challenge.” 

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