2024 Focus Award Recipient - Student

Amy Loviska

Mx. Amy Loviska is a PhD student in the Department of Human Development & Family Science. Amy has advocated for accessible policies within HDFS through their leadership roles. Amy helped initiate the development of department-level procedures and protocols to protect disabled graduate students, rather than leaving accessibility up to individual committee chairs. They have also shared their experiences and insights regarding accessibility with other instructors and faculty members through both formal and informal interactions.  Additionally, this spring Amy will be presenting about improving accessibility in the classrooms to their department’s weekly colloquium series.

Amy has also played an active role in encouraging other instructors within the department to make their courses more accessible. As a teaching assistant, Amy initiated the development of course materials that would make content more accessible to students with things like recording pre-lab videos to help students prepare for labs. 

Finally, as an instructor of record for HDFS, Amy has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to accessibility through their work and studies and a commitment to inclusive teaching.  Amy is intentional about removing as many barriers as possible from the courses they teach, rather than making their course accessible on a case-by-case basis. This creates a classroom culture where students with disabilities feel welcomed by their instructor, rather than their accessibility needs being seen as an afterthought.