State of HDI: Austin Nugent

Episode Transcript

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[Disclaimer]The Human Development Institute hosts the State of

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HDI Podcast. The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and may not
reflect the views of the University of Kentucky. A downloadable transcript is available in the
description. Thank you for listening!

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[Patti Singleton] Welcome to the State of HDI, a podcast of the University of Kentucky Human Development
Institute. We explore the initiatives and projects at the Human Development Institute,
a University Center for Excellence on disability. I'm Patti Singleton,
and in this studio, I have Austin Nugent. Austin is a disability program administrator across

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multiple HDI projects, promoting health, wellbeing and inclusion. Austin, it's so good to see you.
[Austin Nugent]Yes, thank you
so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.
[Patti Singleton]So first, I want to know
a little bit about what are the experiences that led you to the University of Kentucky.
[Austin Nugent]So, there's quite a

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few. I am actually originally from Southern California. And when I was in high school,
my mom surprisingly told me that her and my dad were expecting a child. And so, I have a little
brother that was born with Down syndrome. And so that kind of is the catalyst that, um, you know,

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got me on this journey of disability. And really that passion that within sparked my passion in
disability and inclusion and all the wonderful things around that. I went to college, and I
got actually a minor in disability studies. And after I graduated, I moved to Portland, Oregon,
where I met my now husband who is originally from Louisville, and he was like, I plan to move back

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home and go back and get my doctorate and like, what are your thoughts on moving to Kentucky? And
I was super on board with it. I had - every time I had visited, I loved Kentucky, I loved the people
I loved, you know, all the greenery and just everything about it. So moved to Kentucky. And
then that is when I actually connected with a few HDI employees through my colleagues at a national

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level. And I was like, super interested in working with you all, if there's ever an opportunity,
like, here's my resume, about six months after moving to Kentucky, I got the call that there was
a job available for me at HDI, and I was really ecstatic. And so that was what initially connected

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me to UK. But then from the perspective of me, as a student, I had always thought about going back
to school to get my graduate degree. And then when I got hired by the university, you know,
there is that incentive for employees to pursue additional education. So that is when I applied
both for at the time it - before it was LEND it was HDI’s graduate certificate in developmental

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disabilities - but then also the Master of Public Administration program. And here we are.
[Patti Singleton]And yes, here we are.
And I love all of those personal experiences, and especially kind of your firsthand experiences with
your brother that led you into the field. And that really kind of brought you in,

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in your experiences. You're now recognized as an emerging leader
by the Association of University Centers on disability a national organization. So,
tell me how have those interactions with other emerging leaders shaped your work?
[Austin Nugent]Well, unfortunately,
I really didn't get much of an opportunity to connect with other emerging leaders as much

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as I would have hoped. However, I will say just being part of the national AUCD network
definitely has impacted and shaped my work. But also just being connected to other disability
advocates and professionals across the nation is, it's just such a been such a great opportunity

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to not only just connect with other like-minded people, but share ideas, learn from each other,
hear what other states are doing, and then bring that information back to Kentucky to share about
all the wonderful things that are helping at HDI to support other states to you know,
to implement and make advances and changes that are going to support inclusion and disability

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rights in their state. So, I would say just that opportunity of being able to just connect with
folks that I probably wouldn't have been able to connect with if I wasn't connected with AUCD,
have been really influential on my work both as a student as well as a professional.

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[Patti Singleton]That's fantastic.
And then kind of building on that. I think that your generation is definitely one that
will forever be marked by the pandemic and everything that changed. So can you
tell us a little bit about your learning experiences, the impact that that had,
and then how it's changed what you know about yourself, and your work and learning styles.

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[Austin Nugent]I know I applied for graduate
school right around when the pandemic started. And so, I've only ever done remote learning for
as far as my graduate program, which was very different than undergrad where every day you're,
you know on campus, and you're, you're kind of more forced to interact with students and

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your classmates and your teachers. Where in a virtual online learning environment,
it's kind of up to view how much you're going to be interacting with others. And so, at times,
I kind of had to force myself I'm like, yes, it's really easy to just like, do the bare minimum,
because I'm not having to interact with my classmates as much. But you soon realize

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that there's so much more to learn and gain from your educational experience when you're, you know,
taking the time to like, go to those office hours and connect with your classmates. Not only during
class hours, which is the same for in person, but it does take a little bit more effort. Um,

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but where I live in Louisville, and UK is in Lexington, I actually found quite a few perks and
the virtual learning because I wasn't having to drive to Lexington two to four times a week, which
was actually really great, because that gave me more time back in my in my day to, you know, focus

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on like the actual learning part of school rather than just the commute. And I also just learned
I really liked a virtual learning environment; I feel like it gave me a lot more flexibility.
Especially in being a full time working professional while I'm in grad school. And then
where I do have like chronic migraines and OCD and also made sure that I was being able to still

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make it to my therapy appointments. And then if I had a migraine flare up, I could, you know, tend
to that but also have the flexibility to get my schoolwork done, and my school not be as impacted.
[Patti Singleton]And I love what you
said about your learning styles, because that definitely talks a lot about universal design

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and how important it is to have these systems in place to be flexible for students. So universal
design is really woven throughout the work we do at HDI. Austin, can you tell me how this
work has shaped your own views on universal design and its importance in our society?

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[Austin Nugent]Yeah, so I was actually first exposed to
universal design very, very early on in my career. Right after I graduated from my undergrad program,
and I moved to Portland, Oregon, I connected with a disability organization. And that focused
on education. And so universal design was very much integrated into all of the work that they

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were doing and universal design for learning. So, when I first connected with HDI I was very
excited to see universal design as a priority area. Because it's very much a priority area
in my - in my life. It's something that I'm incredibly passionate about. And so, the more
that I've gotten to work with universal design and HDI, it's just really strengthened my belief that

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Universal Design truly in this incredible tool that not only benefits people with disabilities,
or like you pointed out students, but it benefits everybody. And so that's really become my message
and all of the work that I've done with HDI. Yes, our work is focused and centered around disability

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and inclusion. But really, it's when professionals implement and use universal design, it benefits
everybody. And so really, we should all be doing it. I am a huge, huge advocate for universal
design. I often joke with folks that it is like one of my favorite things. Jokingly saying I would

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get it tattooed on my body because that's how much I believe in universal design and the power of it.
[Patti Singleton]That's a beautiful statement and I can
only imagine what you know that tattoo would look like. (laughs) So, your work at HDI just continues
to evolve starting with inclusive health. And now you're working on some additional projects

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focused on employment outcomes of people with disabilities. So, tell me how has that exposure
to all of these different systems and projects helped you and your personal goal of inclusion?
[Austin Nugent]I have personal experience
with disability both for my biological brother who has Down syndrome but then I also have to adoptive

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Brothers that due to some pretty adverse childhood experiences, in their early years, they have their
own disabilities and support needs that my family is continuing to learn about. And so being able
to work in an environment like HDI across various systems, and learn how this system should work,
and you know, familiarize myself with those systems has really helped my family. First

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and foremost, because I can take that knowledge that I'm learning about, like, oh, you know,
this is how the education system is structured, or there's this law, or there's this tool, or there's
this resource that exists, and then being able to share that with my parents, to then hopefully
have a positive impact on my brother's lives. You know, in turn, my personal experiences also

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influence and inform my professional experiences and what I'm doing in my work because I can draw
on those personal experiences. And sometimes those frustrations when you're trying to navigate what
can be very complex systems at times, and bring that that firsthand experience to the table and

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be like, hey, like, you know, let's think about this as we work towards, you know, systems change
and making sure these systems are more accessible and inclusive of people with disabilities. With
the goal always being systems and resources should be inclusive. And in order to do that,

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we should be using things like universal design and be thinking about disability, and other
demographics from the start. And from the design and the development. Rather than an afterthought
[Patti Singleton]Austin, that so great, and I love your personal
experiences, and also your family history has really helped to guide that. And certainly, break

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down some of the myths that exist, as well as help with that system improvement, like you said. So
finally, last question. As a graduate student, you've been given plenty of advice. And so, tell
me, what are some of the advice that has resonated with you that you might share with other students?
[Austin Nugent]I think one thing, and it actually came from
a colleague at HDI where my, I got my Master's in Public Administration. So, we're really

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thinking about policy and system change. I thrive on immediate gratification. And so,
as many people know, system changes very slow. And so, getting that advice from someone who had been
in the field much longer than I and having them be like, you know, it's like an iceberg. We're

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chipping away at it. That really helped me kind of settle into like, Okay, I'm in the right program.
So, I would say, just from that interaction, like it's so important to, to connect with other folks
who have similar interests who - and have mentors - because they are going to give you advice when

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you're feeling stuck, which ultimately will happen when you're a student, like, you'll question like,
Is this really what I want to be doing? Am I in the right program? Is this you know,
worth the time, and the energy, where you're feeling stressed or overwhelmed, which I felt
a lot of times throughout my program. But then another thing was a very helpful piece of advice.

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And it's something that I don't think students truly, really capitalize on. But it's to use
the resources that are made available to students. You know, I regularly connected with my professors
even being in a virtual learning environment, like I made sure I was staying in touch with my
professors and faculty via whether it was email, or zoom, or going to office hours, or connecting

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on campus because they really do want to see their students succeed. And so, when you're
feeling having those moments of feeling stuck, or you're feeling like, you're overwhelmed, they were
able to kind of help get me out of that rut and help guide me and reassure me that like, we're,
you know, you're in the right place. And then one other piece of advice, and it goes back to

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that earlier question about just the impact that being part of a national network has had on my own
learning experience, is to seek out opportunities. You know, you may not always find an opportunity
readily available that aligns with your interests or the need that you have through like a program

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requirement for school. But in those moments, don't be afraid to reach out to an organization
or organizations that do have a mission that aligns with your own mission and your own values,
and ask and see if they would be willing to create something for you. So, for me I had to

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do an internship for my MPA. And I'd already had – had been connected with Kentucky Protection and
Advocacy because they're doing systems change. And they're advocating and working with policy in a
setting that I am very passionate about related to disability rights and inclusion. And so, I

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just connected with them. And I said, Hey, here's my need as a student, do you all have a need that
can be mutually beneficial for the both of us? And they were able to work with me, and I was able to
satisfy my learning requirements for my program, but also get these really enriching, learning

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opportunity that really sparked my interest and really solidified that like, Yep, this is what
I'm passionate about. So, I would say that’d probably be one of the best pieces of advice
I've got during my learning experiences. Seek out opportunities, and if there's not one available,
like, see how you can create an opportunity for yourself by connecting with others.

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[Patti Singleton]That’s really great advice,
Austin. Well, I thank you so much for sitting down with us today. Always a pleasure to see you.
[Austin Nugent]Yes, thank you so much for having me.