Tips On Moving From High School To College

This interview features Hannah Papenfuss. Hannah engages in public speaking and is active as an advocate on social media. She shares her experiences navigating the transition from high school to Concordia College. Now a graduate with her master’s in disability services, she offers guidance for students preparing for higher education.

Follow her journey on Instagram: @H_Papenfuss, TikTok: @SpasticCP, Facebook: Hannah Papenfuss. Check out Hannah’s website at https://www.inclusiveimpactbyhannah.com/

Hannah Pappenfus

Moorhead, MN

Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy

1. What was the biggest difference you noticed between high school and college as a student with cerebral palsy?

In my experience, college tends to offer less support than high school. You still have a disability services professional that implements accommodations, but you don’t have a team of people helping to keep you on track. You are responsible for talking with faculty and being proactive if there are any issues. Also, some accommodations in high school can’t be implemented because they would be too costly or interfere with a core expectation in the program. So, you have to be prepared to problem-solve and get creative.

2. How did you work with your college’s disability or accessibility office to set up accommodations?

Because I had an IEP in high school, the registration process was pretty simple. I brought a copy to the Disability Services Coordinator, and we talked through the accommodations I had used in the past and why they were helpful. Once they were approved, I could go into our school’s platform (Accommodate) and submit a renewal request at the start of each term.

3. What challenges did you experience when starting college, and how did you navigate them?

When I first moved on campus, a fire alarm went off in the dorm in the middle of the night. It turned out not to be an emergency, but my parents and I had to have extensive conversations with the school to figure out the best way to evacuate me from a building if I wasn’t in my wheelchair and didn’t have staff around. We ended up purchasing a fire mat and giving a few of my floormates keys to my room so that in the event of a fire at night, they could carry me to safety. The fire marshal also worked with the school to update evacuation procedures in the academic buildings. 

4. What resources, tools, or supports helped you succeed during your transition to college?

My parents were really helpful in helping me problem-solve when I wasn’t sure where to start. But in terms of tools to maximize my independence, the biggest things were keeping my schedule in my phone and using assistive technology like dictation and word prediction to help with longer written assignments.

5. What advice would you give high school students with cerebral palsy who are preparing for college?

Practice advocating for yourself now so that by the time you get to college, it doesn’t seem so scary. Also, don’t shy away from using your accommodations. I made my life so much harder in college because I wanted to prove I “could do things like everyone else”. In reality, I would have saved myself a lot of time and energy by using the supports available to me.