Ms. Duggan Digs Disability

  Today is the 31 st anniversary of the American’s with Disabilities Act and Disability Pride Month! In case you didn’t know t his important civil rights law works to ensure all people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else (Social Media: Tweets & Posts, n.d). What a month to show your support for the disability community! This past week I attended the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) summer conference in Austin, Texas and the opening speaker was Andréa LaVant one of the producers of Crip Camp. She told her story of growing up as a Black disabled women and how it affected her. What stood out to me the most was that while she had been taught about Black pride she had never been taught about disability pride. Figure 1: This is a thumbnail of my latest YouTube video “Let’s Talk about Disability Pride” with a black colored fist that reads Support Disability Rights. As a former Special Education teacher I remember talking about f

 I’m going on a trip in my favorite rocket ship! Remember that? Well I’m not getting in a rocket ship but I am getting on a plane for the first time since Oct 2019! Up until that point I had been on a plane several times a year traveling all over the U.S. for conferences and for FREE might I add! This time around I’m headed to my first in person conference since 2019 for individuals who work with students with disabilities in higher education. I’ll tell you more about it later in a special VLOG. Figure 1: This is a photo of my thumbnail for my YouTube video on ADL: Packing for a Trip where my packed suitcase is on the bed.  With this being my first time packing since 2019 I had to remember all of my packing tips and wanted to share them with you. First things first, plan out all of your outfits by placing them on your bed and making sure everything matches. I typically like to pack clothes that will fit easily in my suitcase like dresses and skirts. If you don’t wear those items then p

  I’ve done several summer themed videos where I focus on the things you should be aware of as a student who takes courses during the summer. Summer courses are a whole other ball game and if you aren’t up for the challenge it’s best to take a breather during the summer or be prepared to give it all you got.   It dawned on me that I hadn’t shared my own course load and how I’m handling things so far. As you know I am a doctoral student pursuing my EdD in Higher Education. This is actually my first time taking a summer course since summer 2018 and I’ve done pretty well so far. Figure 1: This is a thumbnail of my YouTube video “Summer Courses as a Doctoral Student” where I am holding an SPSS book with a worried face. I am currently taking Diversity in Higher Education and Advanced Quantitative Research. My Diversity in HIED course involves watching a 3 part series on a PBS documentary called “Race The Power of an Illusion”. After watching the documentary you write a page length discussio

  Guys I love a quick and easy recipe especially towards the end of the week when I do not feel like cooking. Cooking is one of the most important Adult Daily Living Skills and probably one of the most tedious next to cleaning. Think about it what would happen if you did not know how to cook? In addition to your stomach letting you know immediately, your mood would suck and you would be miserable. Remember that Snicker’s commercial? That’s right you are NOT yourself when you’re hungry!   Figure 1: This is a YouTube thumbnail of my video on “ADL: Pigs in a Blanket (Air Fryer Recipe) with several pictures of me preparing them.  So I didn’t turn into the UN-jolly green giant due to my hunger I decided to make pigs in a blanket in my Air Fryer since I knew that I already had the ingredients. The recipe only called for hotdogs, biscuits, and an Air Fryer all of which I had. I started by opening the can of biscuits and spreading them out on a plate before cutting the hotdogs up in small sect

  Alright guys we are half way through the summer semester and I thought I would do a simple check-in to see how things were going! If you are a student then you know the summer semester goes by quick due to the courses typically lasting about 6-8 weeks. This means there is most likely an assignment and test or quiz due every week! Check out the tips below to ensure that you aren’t getting left behind this summer. Figure 1: This a thumbnail for my YouTube video on “Summer Check-In” where I am smiling while sitting in my office.   Check your grades AND email daily. I check my grades every morning to ensure that nothing is missing and everything that I completed has been accounted for. I also check my email multiple times a day which recently helped a lot when my professor emailed me to tell me that I missed a question on an assignment and needed to re-upload it ASAP. Imagine if I had missed that! Failed an Assignment? Reach out ASAP! If you have failed an assignment, exam, or quiz reac

  So if you’ve been following my blog and/or YouTube you know I like to indulge in a little self-care from time to time and I even consider it to be an independent living skill. You may have seen my videos on at home manis/pedis and a virtual painting classes where I take a little time out for myself to do something fun. I am actually teaching a course on domestic violence right now and this past Saturday we spoke about self-care. Self-care is typically not thought of as much when talking about domestic violence but it is a major component in recovering from the traumatic events that DV brings. Figure 1: This is a thumbnail of my latest YouTube video on ADL: Ms. Duggan Makes a Brown Sugar Scrub with a picture of Coconut Oil, Peppermint Oil, and Brown Sugar. I also have a picture of the scrub on my hands. As I was going over my PowerPoint, I thought to make a self-care item for my class as a special surprise. I saw a recipe for a DIY scrub that I had the materials for so I thought I wou

  I got a refund! When I got the email notification that I would be receiving a refund my excitement went through the roof! This is the first time that I have received a refund since undergrad! In case you’re wondering, a refund is the overage from your financial aid that you receive once everything has paid out. With this being the summer semester and funds being limited I was not expecting this at all. Figure 1: This is a thumbnail of my latest YouTube video on I Got a Refund! What Should I Do With It? Where I am looking excited! The extra money that I received came from a summer grant and CARES Act funding. Since I had already paid my tuition fees for this semester I was able to receive a total of $632 of FREE money! Free money means that I do not have to pay any of this back and it is mine to use as I please! You’re probably wondering well how did you get a grant when funds are limited during the summer? Did you apply for this? While I did apply for the CARES Act funding, I did not