When asked to describe what her first year of university was like, Kaitlynn Beston pauses and summons three words: Barriers, advocacy and transformation.
“It's definitely been an adjustment. I’ve encountered lots of barriers, but at the same time, I've worked through them. I've gotten better at using my voice for advocating and learned that it’s OK to get a bit loud,” says Kaitlynn.
The 19-year-old University of Regina student is studying computer science and hopes to become a software developer working with assistive tech companies. She's passionate about technology and hungry for a role in the tech industry – “Something that will directly benefit my community,” she adds.
As the first person in her immediate family to attend university, Kaitlyn says she didn’t really know what to expect or what was out there for funding post-secondary education. “The first thing I was told was to just apply for a bunch of scholarships,” she says.
In 2023, Kaitlynn was awarded a $3,000 CNIB scholarship and used the funds to purchase accessible technology and software, including a Victor Reader Stream – a handheld digital audio player (with a $595 price tag) that she uses to read books, course materials, and other online resources.
“It's because of the CNIB scholarship that I'm able to have the technology and software that I need to thrive as a student,” says Kaitlynn. “I also recently discovered I have ADHD and found it challenging to keep up with my assignments and workload. So, I invested some of my scholarship funds in productivity software, and that’s been working really well for me.”
Kaitlynn believes scholarship programs like CNIB’s are vital to the community because they help alleviate some of the stress associated with post-secondary studies and give recipients opportunities to acquire things that they otherwise may not have had, like purchasing expensive assistive technology.
“As a person living with multiple disabilities, it's really helpful to have access to technology, and that’s something that I think a lot of non-disabled people take for granted. Without my phone, without my technology, my life would have a lot more barriers to navigate,” says Kaitlynn.