Supporting Students and Alumni with Disabilities

IDEAL at Georgia State University serves students with intellectual disabilities by providing access to inclusive education and resources to prepare for meaningful work and expression in the arts and creative media fields. IDEAL Students and Alumni are artists, writers, filmmakers, animators, and creators.  Our goal is to support each student's unique media maker voice, empowering students to explore their identities, learn new skills, and showcase their talents, while producing digital content, learning together with peers, growing social and professional networks, and gaining career-related experience.

The Project So Far...

We’re busy getting ready for another school year, but wanted to thank you for helping many second-year IDEAL students attain valuable experience – and get paid for their work – through internships this summer. Your generous donations were matched by employers, and those funds were used to pay students for their hard work in roles ranging from data entry to marketing and communications support, as well as office management, and video editing. We thank our incredible internship partners – Atlanta’s Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse, En Pointe School of Dance in Lilburn, DiME Network, Dunwoody's 23 East Group, and Art Pharmacy – for providing such rewarding opportunities for our students.

These experiences are important and can be life changing for students. IDEAL participant Angad Sahgal, credits the program with giving him “the confidence to experiment and learn, a key ingredient in the entrepreneurial journey.” Sahgal’s app, Let Me Do It, co-developed with his father, was one of 12 ventures selected from a pool of more than 40 applicants for funding from the Main Street Entrepreneurs Seed Fund administered by GSU’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute (read more here).

Father and son team Amit and Angad Sahgal developed the Let Me Do It app to help people with disabilities lead more independent lives.

This month we welcome 12 new first-year students starting their college journey, and are committed to ensuring they too have access to meaningful and rewarding experiences like internships. As always, any gift received will fund scholarships that enable students with intellectual disabilities of all backgrounds to access this unique college opportunity, become a part of the Georgia State community and develop job skills while getting paid for their work.

Your gift helps us to continue to build the IDEAL community!

Cameron having fun while organizing the costume and prop room at Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse.	Justin's 1st day at 23 East Group as a marketing and communications intern.	Remi organizing the costume closet at En Pointe School of Dance during her summer internship.

Want more information about IDEAL, Inclusive Digital Expression and Literacy at Georgia State?

Reach out to us at ideal@gsu.edu.