A single mother of three, Kerry Grosch faced seemingly insurmountable challenges in her quest for higher learning. With a child with special-needs and health concerns of her own, the cost of tuition and the logistics of a daily college routine seemed too much to bear. However, with the help of financial aid and WSU's Disability Support Services, Kerry turned her dream into reality – earning a bachelor's degree in 2002.
But that was just the beginning. Thanks to the assistance she received as a freshman, Kerry saw yet another door open and another dream realized as she entered the WSU Graduate School and began working toward a doctorate in community psychology.
Now in her third year in the program, Kerry is already preparing for the next step in her journey. Recently she helped apply the findings of student research to create instructional materials and a lesson plan to train frontline workers at Wichita's Larksfield Place. The goal of the new program is to teach participants how to care for residents while meeting their social interaction needs – one that Kerry feels will have a domino effect all its own.
"We are helping to empower people who are vulnerable; who need help," Kerry says, "and we are able to share that philosophy with others to help even more people."