EMPOWER, a program for U of A students with intellectual disabilities, kicked off the fall semester with its largest class yet.

The four-year non-degree-seeking program, established in the College of Education and Health Professions in 2017, stands for Educate, Motivate, Prepare, Opportunity, Workplace readiness, Employment, Responsibility.

This year, 25 students, including 11 in their first year of college, are participating. Thirteen have graduated from EMPOWER. More than 150 peer student mentors are also part of the program.

"EMPOWER has evolved so much over the last seven years. We began with three students and now have 25 who are receiving a college experience, living on campus and becoming work-ready," said Ashley Bradley, who has served as director since the beginning. "We are truly enhancing diversity and inclusion on campus and in our community. Inclusion is not a matter of just increasing the numbers but of changing the culture. EMPOWER is creating an environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed and be valued for who they are."

EMPOWER incorporates functional academics, independent living, employment, social and leisure skills, and health and wellness skills to help young adults become self-sufficient. Students build strong friendships and support structures for life.

"When I came here four years ago, EMPOWER accepted me as family," said James Tyndall, who will graduate from the program in May. "I have excelled in my sports management internships, and I am so thankful for what I have learned and accomplished in EMPOWER."

Tyndall was recently nominated for the U of A Homecoming king.

"Being the first EMPOWER student to be nominated for the Homecoming court is a huge honor and the biggest achievement that I've ever accomplished," he said.

The A.L. Chilton Foundation in Dallas recently provided EMPOWER with $250,000 in new funding. This will allow the program to hire two additional staff members: a full-time academic and employee specialist and a part-time occupational therapist.

The independent foundation was set up in 1945 in Texas by Arthur L. and Leonore Chilton. Patti Brown and Bonnie Harding, who both hold bachelor's degrees in education from the College of Education and Health Professions, are members of the foundation's distribution committee and staunch supporters of EMPOWER. Together with their husbands, they serve on the college's Dean's Executive Advisory Board.