Occupational Therapy students help “Rev up the Vote”

Six UNE occupational therapy students recently helped individuals with disabilities in the Greater Portland area exercise their fundamental right to participate in the political decision-making process.

“It lets them have their voice heard, and it’s really important that we hear them,” said Jessica Balland (’20), Master of Science in Occupational Therapy student and chair of the project.

The “Rev up the Vote” campaign was developed by the American Association of People with Disabilities to promote political participation for Americans with disabilities.

The students visited two local community support programs for young adults with developmental disabilities to discuss the importance of voting and to register interested individuals. 

“Part of Occupational Therapy is advocating for groups that are really underserved,” said Balland.

The students did not get into any specific issues but instead made the individuals aware of the broad range of topics they can vote on.

Eight new voters were signed up to register during the outings.

“We go to class and learn about the importance of advocacy, but going out and seeing how to apply that has been really beneficial to the learning process,” said Balland.

Balland says she made the decision to leave her home in California and travel across the country to the University of New England because of the opportunities offered outside of the classroom here.

“It was a big decision, but this a really great school, and I don’t think I realized it so much until I got here," Balland said. "I came here because I knew there would be a lot of hands-on learning.”