Hi, I’m Madison!

To be frank, I had no idea what disability studies was until I met Brenda. I knew people who were disabled, that people struggle with disability, and that there were probably some ways that the world could be more accommodating to human beings, but never realized how deep the concept of “disability” runs through everything we do, see, participate in, and so on. 

I began working with her (and Ashten, too!) when I became a moderator for the Disability & Access Collective Blog, aiming to elevate community voices and prompt discussions about accessibility on and off of the UConn campus. When I learned that Brenda was looking for students to join her and Jess’ project on MTS, I very quickly and eagerly began my application. Having begun this work surrounding access and disability on the UConn campus through the DAC blog, I became fascinated with how UConn might be tied to the greater legacies of institutionalization that shapes the current landscape and discourse today.  

I am so grateful to be working on this project with such an amazing group of people, and hope that this project will empower those who have their own stories about Mansfield to voice their experiences. While I feel incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to excavate Mansfield’s history and bring light to what has happened – both inside and outside the walls of the institution – I hope to see the work that we’re doing validate and elucidate the experiences of surviving residents of MTS and their families.