Integrated Studies Student Presents at Conference

Last month, Integrated Studies student Sebastian Desimone ’26 presented at the State of the Art Conference on Inclusive Postsecondary Education and Individuals with Intellectual Disability. The conference was hosted by Syracuse University’s School of Education in Syracuse, NY.

Sebastian attended the conference along with Christa Fisher, Director of GMercyU’s Integrated Studies program, and Social Work major Erin Huggard ’26, who is currently interning with the Integrated Studies department.

At the conference, Sebastian presented on his running career and advocacy. In 2022, Sebastian notably pursued a waiver from the NCAA to join the Cross Country and Track and Field teams at GMercyU, a Division III school. At the time, students in non-degree seeking programs such as Integrated Studies were unable to participate in collegiate-level sports.

Thanks to Sebastian's persistence, the NCAA approved a change to make it easier for students with intellectual disabilities to compete in Division III athletics nationwide. Learn more about it here.

“I was very confident because I've done this before and took a public speaking class here [at GMercyU],” said Sebastian of his presentation. “But the part I enjoyed the most about the trip was exploring the campus.”

The conference committee reported record high applications for presenting at the Student Leadership Conference, Christa Fisher explained. Fisher has attended the conference for the past three years.

“Sebastian's presentation was selected, which I think speaks to his strong message,” she said.

For Erin, attending the conference was an opportunity to learn about post-secondary education and how to advocate for students. “I got to see the amazing work that people are actively doing to make the world a better place,” she said.