Students come to Temple University from many different backgrounds, but Durand Delgado, who will be enrolling as a first-year student in fall 2025, the journey has been a bit unorthodox.
Delgado enrolled at the Center for Autism (CFA) after graduating high school. At the CFA, Delgado developed social and leadership skills, learned more about work-life expectations, and began gaining employment experience, all of which prepared him for his later enrollment in Temple's Leadership & Career Studies (L&CS) program.
"They taught us about everything," Delgado said. "How to maintain professional relationships, how to be hygienic, how to have courage as adults. We got jobs, and we worked through the program."
Erin Metzinger, a part-time mental health therapist at the CFA and the academic relations coordinator at the Institute on Disabilities (IOD), met Delgado at the CFA and encouraged him to check out the IOD's L&CS program, which is housed in Temple University's College of Education and Human Development (CEHD).
"I knew from the beginning that the Leadership and Career Studies program would be a good fit," Metzinger said. "It's been so nice to see him jump into the experiences here and take it seriously."
L&CS is an inclusive post-secondary education (IPSE) certificate program at Temple for young adults with intellectual disabilities, or intellectual disabilities and autism. L&CS students are provided with supports, including a team of peer mentors, to take courses, complete internships and employment experiences, and participate in student life.
L&CS and the Institute on Disabilities were not new to Delgado. As a member of IOD's Youth Advocacy Council, he had contributed to the 2021 Band Aids Don’t Fix Bullet Holes zine project about gun violence.
As a student in the L&CS program, Delgado completed internships with the Institute's TechOWL assistive technology program, the Digital Equity Center and, most recently, the Institute's public policy initiatives. He also served as the facilitator for a panel at State Representative Joe Hohenstein's fall Annual Disability Summit, and he met state legislators and advocated for increased funding as part of Temple University’s annual spring Owls on the Hill Day, sponsored by the Office of Government Affairs and Civic Engagement.
Photo Above: Delgado at the Fall 2024 Cities of Inclusion Disability Summit, in front of a graphic reading "Cities of Inclusion."
Delgado says that these activities have helped him develop skills to become a leader and respected member of his community.
"One of my goals is to be a pillar in my community, to be someone that other people look to," Delgado said. "In my community, we barely talk about disability; it's considered under the rug, or sacred, or secret. I think that I can help change that by telling my story."
And in the L&CS program and community, Delgado has become a respected figure.
"One thing I hear from so many of our LC&S students is that Durand is a great friend, and they all want to be friends with him," said Jenna Doran, a career development specialist for L&CS. "He's loyal, hardworking, and all his professors and internship supervisors always have wonderful things to say about him."
Delgado has also focused on his academics while in the L&CS program.
"One of my favorite classes has been Leadership and Organizations with Professor Ross Woodley," Delgado said. "It taught me how to maintain leadership, good and bad traits about leaders and how to speak up in front of others."
Earning a bachelor's degree at Temple University will prepare Delgado to accomplish his goals. He wants to learn more about computer repair, to continue raising his voice and advocating for others, and to pursue his hobbies of video creation and dancing. As an undergraduate, Delgado plans to live with his family and commute to campus.
Delgado knows that completing a degree will be a challenge. That doesn’t faze him, though.
"There's a quote from Nelson Mandela," Delgado said. "'It seems impossible until it is done.' I think that I can do it."
Updated 5-12-2025