IMiss Ability STARTING IN THE FALL of 2011, Alumni the men of Theta Chapter at Cincinnati Engagement have been slowly building their annual No Boundaries Week. No Boundaries Encourage, support week began with only a bike-a-thon and and enable alumni to accessibility day but has now grown to cause Pi Kappa Phi include empathy dinners, paralympic to be a continued, sports, guest speakers, and finally the meaningful and Ability Pageant. tangible presence in first. Had our name been Push America, their lives. In 2013, Theta Chapter held their I would bet you a million dollars that one very first Ability Pageant. Starting as a of those girls would have said people with FOCUS AREAS small event with brothers comprising disabilities need our support, they need Establish an alumni the majority of the audience, the pageant our understanding. This may be true, but engagement volunteer has grown to have an audience of over we are really promoting the abilities of governance structure, 100. Being held in the great hall of the all people, getting to know people and including an advisory student union, the Ability Pageant this learning about their abilities. a home run council and resource year consisted of three unique rounds in in my book!" allocation strategy. which contestants competed. The first "All of the contestants talked about Create and implement round consisted of a presentation on a an alumni lifelong abilities, this is the first event I've been to disability of the contestants' choosing. development program, where this was the case. I've been to hundreds Disabilities ranged from deafness to including a career of Miss Push pageants where I would cringe autism to epilepsy and everything in mentoring program as they spoke. But because our name is saying and professional and between. The next round consisted of a what we are doing and emphasizing, it's all personal development talent portion in which contestants chose very synergistic. They all got it." opportunities. to showcase their abilities in any way they chose. This year's talents included As the attendance has grown and the Develop and implement an effective young country singing, Irish dancing and even events have been fine-tuned, SO has the alumni engagement an original rap about abilities. To finish message Theta Chapter has been trying program specifically the competition off, before the judges to portray. oriented to alumni under deliberated, the contestants had one final U.S. Army Golden Knight Dana the age of 30. round of question and answer. Bowman says it best, "It's not the Develop and implement "Each of the women had to answer disability, it's the ability." alumni engagement, the question, what does The Ability understanding, Theta Chapter continues to emphasize education and Experience mean to you? And every that we are not trying to make people feel encouragement at the single one of them talked about getting sorry for people with disabilities. We are undergraduate level. to know people first-that every trying to spark the thought about what person has an ability, and to not Develop and implement life is like with disabilities and how, in a focused event worry about their disabilities. All that situation, you would react and use strategy that provides of the women said that in their your abilities to overcome obstacles. By a wider base of alumni speech while I was judging," incorporating the disability presentations opportunities for said Chad Coltrane, CEO of into Miss Ability, contestants were forced interaction that are The Ability Experience. "Every to learn, research and share things that meaningful to them. single one of them knocked it without the pageant, they may have out of the park when they talked never known. Moving forward, the Miss about people and their abilities. I Ability Pageant will continue to educate firmly believe that it is about the and spark the thoughts of awareness for name, The Ability Experience. It students and faculty at the University of encourages discussion about abilities Cincinnati. 10 FALL2014 STARANDLAMP.COM