Florida State University doctoral candidate Ellen Cecil-Lemkin is on a mission to make sure current and future generations of students have a better chance of succeeding in college because of her own journey navigating higher education with a disability.

Cecil-Lemkin, who’s working toward a doctorate in English with a specialization in rhetoric and composition, serves as an ambassador for FSU’s Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) because she believes so strongly in one of its key goals: offering services to students with “invisible disabilities,” such as anxiety and depression.

“When you ask students about disability, their first thoughts tend to focus on someone using a mobility device, like a wheelchair,” Cecil-Lemkin said. “While some disabled people do use wheelchairs, many more do not have any physical, visible indicators, and those students are eligible for ADA-approved accommodations, such as testing outside of a classroom setting or increased time on exams.”