SUNY Empire graduate works as disability advocate and volunteer

(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — DECEMBER 12, 2024) Rachel Sproule has dedicated her academic career and her spare time to helping others in medical settings. Her passion for volunteerism stems from her own challenges with disability and combatting obstacles related to her education and career as a student who is legally blind.

Sproule will be graduating with a degree in community and human services with a concentration in child and family health. Her ultimate goal is to become a social worker who helps normalize hospital environments using play, education, distraction, advocacy, and support.

Sproule said she chose Empire State University because the classes and professors worked to accommodate her needs and determine if each course was the right fit. Sproule said the ability to personalize her education and fit it into her lifestyle made a difference in her success.

“I am legally blind and need electronic textbooks and extra time on assignments,” Sproule said. “When it came to upcoming semesters, I would email professors as soon as I registered to clarify how visual the class was.”

Outside of coursework, Sproule is an active volunteer at Albany Medical Center. Sproule works at the front desk in the surgical intensive care unit and helps facilitate conferences within the medical school on how to best treat patients with disabilities.

“I’ve spoken on issues of culture, employment opportunities and accommodations I have received in both high school and college for those with disabilities, disability and technology advancement,” Sproule said. “I’m passionate about this because the disabled population is so underrepresented, similarly to other cultures.”

After graduation, Sproule intends to stay in the State University of New York system and pursue a master’s of social work at the University at Albany. Eventually, Sproule said she hopes to write a memoir that reflects her journey thus far.