Above and Beyond Academics

Beyond Academics gives students with intellectual disabilities more than a college degree — it gives them a chance to live on their own terms.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Demario Chandler quickly flips channels, coming to rest on ESPN. Big men, clad only in garish shorts, grimace and grunt at one another. Punches fly as they grapple — big, meaty arms swinging around necks, into ribs. Demario paces excitedly, a grin on his face.
The grin returns when he flips the channel again and catches the weather report. More snow might be on the way.
Minutes later, he ushers a fellow UNCG student into the apartment. They decide to go to the apartment's club house to relax.
"Demario, tell me about your trip to D.C. You went to the White House, right?"
"It was alright."
"What did you do?" the student prompts.
"Talked about jobs."
There's much he doesn't say. The quiet UNCG senior deflects questions with a shrug. The trip was important. He was invited to DC to participate in job shadowing as part of the national Disability Mentoring Day. A workforce he'll soon be headed into.
Demario came to UNCG in 2007 when Beyond Academics launched. The fledgling program sought to provide a rare opportunity to college-age students with intellectual disabilities — the chance to go to college and learn to live on their own, just like their peers.