Disabilty Services provides scholarships to students in need

Since 1976, Disability Services and Resources has reached out to hundreds of Temple University students.

DSR has strived to inform students that there is hope for each and every one of them, even when the student may feel they don’t fit the requirements to receive educational funding.

“Disabilities are not a barrier to success,” said John Bennett, director of Disability Services on Main Campus. “Many successful people in the world have disabilities.”

With more than 4,000 incoming freshmen arriving on campus this fall, DSR has a lot of new faces to reach out to.

The organization spoke to incoming students at freshman orientation.

What message was DSR trying to get out?

“It’s OK to ask for help,” Bennett said. “And if we can’t help, we’ll find someone who can.”

The organization did just that by teaming up with the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation 10 years ago, in order to provide students with some outside funding. Temple is one of eight universities supported by the foundation, making the scholarship quite selective in its choice donors, yet incredibly supportive once attained, Bennett said.

Each year students are able to register for the scholarship, with applications reviewed annually. All it takes is a step into the Disability Services office in room 100 of Ritter Annex, where the student’s overall needs will be discussed.

The additional costs a student with disabilities must pay for include special transportation or a medical leave from the university. These costs are not often paid for by universities or the government, so it was important to DSR to use the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation as another way to improve the lives of their students, Bennett said.

Dickson Ozobia, a junior management information systems major, was one of many students to receive the Charlotte W. Newcombe Scholarship in 2003.

Ozobia said he first encountered Disability Services at the Ambler Campus.

Because of late registration, Ozobia said he had no way of transporting himself to the university. Traveling back and forth from Main Campus to Ambler was beginning to take its toll on Dickson’s physical condition, he said.

It was then that one of Ozobia’s close friends recommended that he visit the Disability Services office.

As soon as Dickson walked through the door, Disability Services was willing to do whatever it took to solve his transportation problem, Ozobia said. DSR told him about the Charlotte W. Newcombe Scholarship right away, and that it was highly recommended that he apply for the award, in order to support his transportation costs, he said.

In fall 2003, Ozobia was awarded the scholarship. Today, Ozobia said he thanks DSR for his success.

“Disability Services is doing an excellent job,” Ozobia said. “It’s not the amount that matters so much to me, it is the spirit in which they are doing what they’re doing.”

Whether you are at the Ambler Campus, Main Campus or TUCC, each satellite of Disability Services offers equal opportunity to its students. Meetings with disability services are confidential, and each student is treated with the utmost respect and dignity, Bennett said.

For more information on the Disability Services office and the Charlotte W. Newcombe Scholarship, visit www.temple.edu/disability/ or visit the Disability Services and Resources office.

Kylee Messner can be reached at kylee.messner@temple.edu.