Rylee McHenry

Junior Rylee McHenry represents Best Buddies, an international club organization encouraging cooperation with students with disabilities, as president and as an advocate for raising awareness for disabilities on campus.

“Awareness helps others accept each other’s differences and lets it highlight friendships and make it all better,” McHenry said.

For McHenry, disabilities are commonly seen in multitudes of people and in different levels and that raising awareness for these differences is a valuable part of improving social stigmas.

“Disability awareness is just so important because I personally believe that everyone has a disability, whether it’s really big and diagnosed or small and little,” McHenry said. “Even if you are bad at driving a car or have bad hand eye coordination, they are considered disabilities.”

By welcoming disabilities, accepting differences and spreading equal compassion, McHenry believes the world will become a more caring place to grow up in.

“The only way we will be able to develop ourselves as humankind is by recognizing each other’s differences and making sure it’s all okay,” McHenry said.

McHenry’s role in the community of students with disabilities helps adjust boundaries and increase communication between those who are aware and unaware. As a Best Buddies officer, she takes the responsibility of discussing topics many people are uncomfortable discussing.

“I feel like I just naturally like to talk and be in front of people, whether they like it or not, whether I like it or not, so I just find that position great for people who aren’t that comfortable,” McHenry said. “Some students here aren’t and so I think it’s important to have someone, me or any of our other officers, talking and getting the word out. I am really proud of our chapter.”

Being a representative of students with disabilities has changed McHenry’s life for the better.

“It’s overwhelming; it’s a complete takeover of my life and it’s not bad, I accept it and it’s positive,” McHenry said. “It opens your eyes to be more inclusive to everyone, whether you have a disability or not.”