student stories

“There’s a lot of good things about college compared to high school. For one, I don’t have to get up at 6 in the morning anymore, so I’m not falling asleep all day.”

—Jasmine

student stories

“There’s a lot of good things about college compared to high school. For one, I don’t have to get up at 6 in the morning anymore, so I’m not falling asleep all day.”

—Jasmine

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Autism goes to college

introduction: meet the students

Meet the five students from the Anthem Award winning documentary film, Autism Goes to College. You can watch the rest of each student’s story below by clicking their respective names. Or you can watch the film in its entirety by clicking “see the film” on the right. If you would like to host a public or private screening of the film please contact us here, and if you would like to purchase the educational rights to the film, please visit The Video Project.

jasmine

“Right out of high school I picked aerospace engineering as my focus of study. Then, when I took physics in community college, I realized I’m not a physics person—I’m a chemistry person! So I changed it to chemical engineering. After that, I took an environmental science class—I think environmental issues are really important and I’m really passionate about sustainability. So finally I settled on environmental engineering.”

jasmine

“Right out of high school I picked aerospace engineering as my focus of study. Then, when I took physics in community college, I realized I’m not a physics person—I’m a chemistry person! So I changed it to chemical engineering. After that, I took an environmental science class—I think environmental issues are really important and I’m really passionate about sustainability. So finally I settled on environmental engineering.”

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jasmine's STORY

PART one:

meet jasmine

Meet Jasmine, in her second year at a community college, hoping to make the leap to a four year university.

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jasmine's STORY

PART two:

art, and matt

Meet Jasmine, in her second year at a community college, hoping to make the leap to a four year university.

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jasmine's STORY

PART three:

work, NASA, and looking ahead

As she proves herself at her job at Chick-fil-A she gets accepted into a NASA internship.

guillermo

“The thing about high school was that I was not the most popular, but I was one of the smartest. When you get to college, you’re not only not the most popular. You’re also not the smartest. And because you’re not the smartest, that means that, well, you’re nothing—you’re average.”

guillermo

“The thing about high school was that I was not the most popular, but I was one of the smartest. When you get to college, you’re not only not the most popular. You’re also not the smartest. And because you’re not the smartest, that means that, well, you’re nothing—you’re average.”

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GUILLERMO’S STORY

PART one:

meet guillermo

Meet Guillermo, a senior at UC Riverside. In High School, Guillermo knew he wanted to go to college “because that’s where you can get a job” but he didn’t know which job. His search for an area of interest leads him to Geology. But he still felt out of place at times, both socially, and academically.

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GUILLERMO’S STORY

PART two:

field camp

Guillermo faces his capstone project, and his biggest test yet: Field Camp

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GUILLERMO’S STORY

PART three:

the incident

A run in with a classmate spells crisis for Guillermo.

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GUILLERMO’S STORY

PART four:

graduation

Guillermo shares his mixed emotions on graduation day: a significant accomplishment tempered by a sense of foreboading about the future.

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PODCAST EPISODE 5:

this is hard

Guillermo Guzman says he was never one of the most popular kids in high school, but he was one of the smartest. When he gets to UCRiverside, he feels like he's pretty average. He struggles socially and academically. Finding it hard to connect with classmates, he broke down and joined the anime club. And then there was an incident that changed everything.

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caroline

“I was taking very few classes at a time, because I couldn’t handle a large amount when I first started. It was all about just maintaining what I knew I could succeed in doing. It didn’t matter, honestly, how long it took me, because…we learn through these experiences.”

caroline

“I was taking very few classes at a time, because I couldn’t handle a large amount when I first started. It was all about just maintaining what I knew I could succeed in doing. It didn’t matter, honestly, how long it took me, because…we learn through these experiences.”

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caroline's STORY

PART one:

meet caroline

Meet Caroline, a sophomore at Cal State Fullerton studying Child and Adolescent Studies learned to self-advocate and is not afraid to ask for what she needs.

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caroline's STORY

PART two:

transfer & boyfriend

Meet Caroline, a sophomore at Cal State Fullerton studying Child and Adolescent Studies learned to self advocate, and is not afraid to ask for what she needs.

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PODCAST EPISODE 4:

slow and steady towards a 4-year degree

Caroline spent a little over 8 years at community college. She wanted to pass her classes without feeling overwhelmed, and, she did it. Then she transferred to Cal State Fullerton and earned her B.S. in Health Science after four more years. Finding the right major and career path was a process that might seem too slow to some students (and their parents) but Caroline was determined to make her own choices along the way, and she has no regrets. As a self-advocate, she joined the Cal State Fullerton Student Disability Advisory Committee to make sure all neurodiverse students are supported, and feel empowered to make college life choices.

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PODCAST EPISODE 9:

“WHEN PROFESSORS ARE HELPFUL, IT REALLY HELPS.”

In this episode, Caroline talks with one of her professors at Cal State Fullerton, JudelMay Enriquez, about the ways they worked together. Caroline was struggling in a methods and research class. Even with accommodations, she found she got more support by visiting her professor during office hours to let her get to know her, and her learning style better. She also picked up strategies for keeping up in the course. They also discuss how professors can reach out to students on the spectrum who may benefit from academic support.

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jonathan

“I suggest go for it. Push forward. I usually took about three to five classes per semester, just to get a full understanding of all the various subjects I would learn, one semester at a time…”

jonathan

“I suggest go for it. Push forward. I usually took about three to five classes per semester, just to get a full understanding of all the various subjects I would learn, one semester at a time…”

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jonathan's STORY

PART one:

meet jonathan

Meet Jonathan, a Junior at Cal State Long Beach, studying Studio Art sometimes takes meetings with the disability support office to manage his stress around the college workload.

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jonathan's STORY

PART two:

peer mentor & off-campus life

Jonathan meets with his peer mentor through the Life Project & takes an excursion off campus.

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jonathan's STORY

PART three:

aubry

Jonathan works with his professor, Aubry Mintz, who also shares what it’s like having Jonathan in his class.

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jonathan's STORY

PART four:

work, and class

Jonathan lands an on campus federal work/study job as he works towards graduation.

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jonathan's STORY

PART five:

roommates

Despite longing for a good connection, Jonathan struggles to find a good roommate match.

aniella

“I strongly recommend studying abroad, even if it’s just for a summer. I spent a month in Japan over the summer and I really enjoyed the experience. I met a lot of students from different universities around the world. It was really fun and exciting. You can make all these connections.”

aniella

“I strongly recommend studying abroad, even if it’s just for a summer. I spent a month in Japan over the summer and I really enjoyed the experience. I met a lot of students from different universities around the world. It was really fun and exciting. You can make all these connections.”

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aniella's STORY

PART one:

meet aniella

Aniella, a senior at UC Riverside, reflects on her low point Sophomore year, when she disclosed her diagnosis and got help.

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aniella's STORY

PART two:

parents point of view, and work

Aniella’s parents share their POV as Aniella looks to find her footing post-graduation.

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aniella's STORY

PART three:

looking ahead

Aneilla ponders grad school and career goals as she plots her next chapter.

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PODCAST EPISODE 3:

facing challenges and studying abroad

Aniella Fields had the grades, but she was very hesitant about going to college. Her parents told her she had to give it a try. She was accepted to UC Riverside and moved into a dorm her first semester. Then she struggled a bit as a sophomore and decided to disclose her diagnosis. She also changed majors, got involved with TEDx and other extracurricular activities, and ultimately did well enough to graduate in three years. Plus, hear all about her time in Japan. She loved it.

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more from the fabulous five

All five students from the film have now graduated. They talk about post college life and more on the podcast. Caroline is putting her degree in Child and Adolescent studies to use at a health care retailer; Aniella works as a coordinator at an entertainment company, and Guillermo is happy at his job in retail. Hear more from each of them as they start their careers.

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OFF THEY GO!

All five students look to their futures, as college grads, ready to make their mark

autismgoestocollege@gmail.com

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The Autism Goes To College project is brought to you with generous support from: