Student Programs

Teach Access Student Academy

Discover how to build empathy and awareness for accessibility in this engaging, interactive event! Open to all students, whether you’re enrolled in a college or university or learning independently, this free event will strengthen your understanding of accessibility and why it matters.

You’ll learn practical accessibility skills you can apply to your projects, along with strategies for having meaningful conversations that motivate others to prioritize inclusion.

Whether you are new to accessibility or looking to strengthen your understanding, this event will help you take steps toward creating a more accessible world.

Student Academy SAve the Date: Learn from experts in the disability & accessibility field about the importance of accessibility and the skills you need to advocate for a more accessible world! February 26 & 27

2026 Student Academy

The Student Academy is a free two-day event, held virtually on Thursday, February 26, 2026, and Friday, February 27, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET (8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. PT).

Day 1: February 26, 2026

Here’s the schedule for Day 1 of the Student Academy:

11:00 am- 12:30 pm ET: Welcome and Opening Keynote with Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Microsoft
12:45 pm- 1:30 pm ET: Leveling Up: Making Games Accessible Panel.
1:30 pm- 2:00 pm ET: Student Showcase
2:15 pm- 3:00 pm ET: Giving a Voice to Visuals: The Art of Translating Images for Everyone. Caroline Desrosiers (Scribely)
3:15 pm- 4:00 pm ET: Disabled Expertise Forever, Disabled Expertise for the Future (Or, Stop Using Checklists to Avoid Talking to Disabled People). Ashley Shew (Virginia Tech)
4:15 pm- 5:00 pm ET: UX Research for Accessible Design Panel. Katie Wainwright (Google), Kaush Ganesh (Cisco Systems), and Kavana Ramesh (Lululemon)
5:15pm – 6:00 pm ET: Emerging Accessibility Pros Fireside Chat. Deanna Ferrante (Macmillan Learning), Ian O’Bara (Level Access), and Nicholas Cook (Assistiv Labs)

Day 2: February 27, 2026

Here’s the schedule for Day 2 of the Student Academy:

11:00 am- 12:30 pm ET: Welcome and Opening Session
12:45 pm- 1:30 pm ET: AI and Human Representation. Elaine KA ( Amazon)
1:30 pm- 2:00 pm ET: Student Showcase
2:15 pm- 3:00 pm ET: Using personas to design for differences. Whitney Quesenbery (Center for Civic Design)
3:15 pm- 4:00 pm ET: Accessibility Testing Panel. Merrell Guzman (Test Party)
4:15 pm- 5:00 pm ET: Accessibility: The Skill that Future-Proofs Your Tech Career. Shyanne Fullerton and Kristian Burch (Salesforce)
5:15pm – 6:00 pm ET: Fireside Chat. Nandita Gupta (Cisco Systems)

Past Student Programs

2025 Student Academy

The 2025 Student Academy was a two-day virtual event held on Thursday, February 20, and Friday, February 21, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET (8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. PT). Day 1 focused on building empathy and awareness around disability and accessibility, while Day 2 explored practical skills and real-world applications of accessibility. Session recordings are available to view on YouTube.

Session 1: Keynote Presentation, Haben Girma and moderated by Lainey Feingold
Session 2: Introduction to Disability Inclusion, Alan Hejl
Session 3: Disability History for Technologists & Designers, Dr. Emma McDonnell
Session 4: Assistive Technology Bootcamp, Jordan Colbert
Session 5: A Story about a Classroom, Samantha Christopher
Session 6: Inclusive, Accessible, and Collaborative Storytelling, Doug Roland, Roberto Cabrera, and Sue Ruzenski
Session 7: Careers in Accessibility Panel, Meena Das, Fred Moltz, Laura Allen, Lucia Rios, and Rob Haverty
Session 8: Accessibility Principles, Jeff Zundel
Session 9: An Overview of Accessible Digital Communication, Jenny Kowalski
Session 10: How to Make Sure A.I. Doesn’t Discriminate Against People with Disabilities, Lucy Greco
Session 11: Digital Accessibility Program 101, Dr. Stephen Framil
Session 12: Digital Accessibility in your Job Search: Aligning on Inclusion, Catherine Sherry and Hannah Holmgren

2023-2024 Student Academy

During the 2023-2024 academic year, a monthly series was offered for students to explore various topics on disability and accessibility. The recorded sessions are available to watch on the Student Academy YouTube Playlist and are linked in the session schedule below.

Session 1: Introduction to Disability with Ani Grigorian
Session 2: Introduction to Assistive Technology with Jordan Colbert
Session 3: Accessibility Principles with Jeff Zundel
Session 4: How Technology has Transformed Our Lives: A Story of Two Married Googlers Who Are Blind/Low Vision with Victor Tsaran and Karo Caran
Session 5: Accessibility and Neurodiversity with Margaux Joffe
Session 6: Creating Inclusive Events with Mariella Paulino, Adriana Mallozzi, and Yaara Kedem
Session 7: Careers in Accessibility with Fred Moltz, Jonathan Thurston, Crystal Preston-Watson, and Regine Gilbert

Teach Access Student Ambassadors Program

The Teach Access Student Ambassadors program was launched in September 2023, with over 80 registered students. In the fall, students met once a month to discuss disability and accessibility topics. Then, in the spring, they collaborated in modified design sprints to create accessibility awareness and advocacy projects.

Student Ambassadors Program. Become a part of a cohort of engaged student advocates at college campuses across the United States. Apply today. Photo of college students laughing and speaking to one another. Sponsored by: Verizon, Google, Salesforce, and Meta.