Ashley Ariell Collins
Ashley Ariell Collins
Institute on Human Development and Disability
University of Georgia, GA
Ariell is a UCEDD Diversity Fellow at the Institute of Human Development and Disability, at The University of Georgia (UGA). She has a B.S. in Psychology and is a double Master's student obtaining an M.Ed. in Learning, Leadership, and Organizational Development and an M.S. in Financial Planning, Housing, and Consumer Economics. She is also obtaining her second bachelor's degree, a B.S.F.C.S. in Human Development and Family science, simultaneously. She is in her last year of all of her programs and plans to obtain a Ph.D. Industrial-Organizational Psychology.
Ariell works with Destination Dawgs, an Inclusive-Post Secondary Education program at UGA. The program aims to provide students with intellectual and developmental disabilities with robust college experiences in an inclusive environment and employment opportunities upon completion. The program has a peer-mentor component where traditional university students mentor the Destination Dawg students. Ariell is piloting a culturally competent curriculum for peer mentors who will interact with the students with disabilities in this program. The curriculum emphasizes cultural competency, intersectionality, and person-centered planning.