Alumni
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Lauren McCabe
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Lauren will be culminating her years at Vanderbilt continuing down her path of service centered on educational outcomes, more specifically on equal access in special education. After finding her career calling in special education through service her freshman year, she has since been heavily involved in organizations like the Special Education Advocacy Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Best Buddies, her summer project at Advocates for Children in New York City (where she published resource guides and provided case work for families facing educational discrimination), and finally Next Steps at Vanderbilt, which has been her most central service focus. Through all of these opportunities Lauren has discovered the injustices that occur surrounding special education, but also more broadly disability in our society. She continues to fight for equality for all students, both on and off Vanderbilt’s campus.
As previously mentioned, Lauren’s service involvement began and focused on Next Steps at Vanderbilt, a postsecondary education program for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities on Vanderbilt’s campus. This program is in fact what inspired her to be a special education major today, with a specific focus on positive outcomes for older students. Over the years, Lauren has served as a peer mentor, an executive board member, a research assistant, and even a summer intern with Next Steps at Vanderbilt. Through all her different involvement with the program, she has seen barriers put up for individuals with disabilities transitioning into adulthood in terms of postsecondary education opportunities, employment, and independent living. These issues and more are what have driven her to seek equality through advocacy initiatives and spreading awareness on Vanderbilt’s campus. Lauren's continued goal on campus is to integrate Next Steps students into the Vanderbilt community, as she believes this is an important form of diversity for Vanderbilt students.
Coming into her senior year, Lauren is now preparing to combine all she has learned about injustices in education into her future career in special education. She will leave Vanderbilt with the passion, knowledge, and understanding to be an informed educator and community member, supporting the successful outcomes for neurodiverse students and adults. With each year Lauren has learned education is more of a privilege instead of a right. As a result, she hopes to continue studying how best to provide the highest quality of life for all students.