What does it really feel like to be a college student?<\/p>\n
For eight future Golden Eagles, the answer wasn’t found in a brochure\u2014it was discovered by living it.<\/p>\n
On July 7-8, Institute for Disability Studies (IDS) staff, dedicated volunteers, and incredible partners at The University of Southern Mississippi partners came together for the 2nd Annual RISE Summer College Readiness Program, giving participants an authentic preview of college life before their first semester ever begins.<\/p>\n
The two-day experience was designed to help students build confidence while learning what to expect as college students. Participants moved into a residence hall, explored campus, attended a mock college class, learned how to navigate campus transportation, and even experienced a night in university housing. Along the way, they also learned about Southern Miss traditions, student leadership opportunities, disability services, and what it takes to succeed in an inclusive postsecondary education program.<\/p>\n
The schedule stayed busy from start to finish. Students discussed the differences between high school and college, learned how to prepare for an inclusive postsecondary education program, explored Student Accessibility Services and disability disclosure, toured campus, participated in a residence hall activity, and wrapped up the first day with dinner and time to connect with one another. On day two, they attended a mock college class, tackled a campus scavenger hunt, toured the Payne Center, participated in an exercise class, and reflected on everything they had learned before heading home.<\/p>\n
Of course, some of the best memories weren’t on the schedule\u2026<\/p>\n
One scavenger hunt team took the scenic route and somehow ended up way across campus. They may not have found every clue right away, but they definitely earned the award for “most thorough campus tour!”<\/p>\n
Then there was the Payne Center exercise class. Several IDS staff members decided to join in, only to discover that kicking a soccer ball with accuracy is much harder than it looks. There were plenty of laughs, a little friendly competition, and a reminder that sometimes learning happens best when you’re simply having fun.<\/p>\n
The Summer College Readiness Program serves as an introduction to RISE To The Top!, Southern Miss’s fully approved four-year inclusive postsecondary education program for students with intellectual and other developmental disabilities. One of only two programs of its kind in Mississippi, RISE provides an inclusive college experience through academics, employment preparation, community engagement, and student life while supporting students as they work toward greater independence and future careers. The program is a partnership between IDS and the USM School of Interdisciplinary Studies and Professional Development.<\/p>\n
Programs like this are about more than preparing students for classes. They’re about helping students picture themselves on campus, build confidence before day one, and realize that college is a place where they belong.<\/p>\n
A heartfelt thank you goes to every IDS staff member, volunteer, campus partner, presenter, and supporter who invested their time and energy to make this experience possible. Your willingness to share your knowledge\u2014and your enthusiasm for Southern Miss\u2014helped create an unforgettable two days for our future Golden Eagles.<\/p>\n
We loved every minute of it, and we’re already counting down the days until next summer.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What does it really feel like to be a college student? For eight future Golden Eagles, the answer wasn’t found in a brochure\u2014it was discovered by living it. On July 7-8, Institute for Disability Studies (IDS) staff, dedicated volunteers, and incredible partners at The University of Southern Mississippi partners came together for the 2nd Annual […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[37],"class_list":["post-610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rise","tag-july2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmids.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmids.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmids.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmids.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmids.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usmids.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":615,"href":"https:\/\/usmids.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610\/revisions\/615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmids.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmids.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmids.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmids.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}