Ariana Meltzer-Bruhn
Founder of LEVEL
Villanova University
Global Interdisciplinary Studies and Economics double major
She wanted Villanova students with disabilities to feel more included on campus. So she grew an army of volunteers who took over for adult aides.
GLAMOUR: How did you choose to study abroad in Shanghai this spring?
Ariana Meltzer-Bruhn: I think what drew me to China was that I was looking for a really obviously different experience from Villanova life. I’m pretty comfortable there, where it’s not like I walk into a room and look totally different from everyone else.
GLAMOUR: On the note of differences, a lot of your work at Villanova is about getting the community to be aware and supportive of them. Tell me about your organization, LEVEL.
AMB: Part of my Villanova life is that I play on the club soccer team – I was one of the captains this year. But freshman year, at a typical practice in the spring, one wrong tackle and I broke my foot, putting me on crutches. Suddenly, it took about 45 minutes to get to class. I couldn’t stand up in the shower or hold my own tray in the dining hall. Just getting dressed and carrying my books to class was a challenge, so it was definitely an eye-opening experience.
GLAMOUR: Yet you opted to do a race while on crutches. What’s the story there?
AMB: Yeah, crutching a 5K was not something I’d planned. I basically just woke up that morning, already signed up for the race and really excited because I love running and being active. So I figured I’d just enjoy the atmosphere. But when I got there, I was like, “Well, why not? Let me crutch it and see how this works.” My friends thought I was crazy. By the third lap I didn’t have any feeling in my arms, but I figured, ‘OK I got this far, I need to finish.’
GLAMOUR: People must have been pretty impressed.
AMB: Afterwards, people kept coming up to me saying, “That was awesome! How did you think of doing that?” At first I was totally honored. But then I noticed that there was another student in a wheelchair who had done the race as well, and no one came up to him and said anything. I felt a little embarrassed because there I was, temporarily disabled, and people were giving me tons of attention. But a person who was permanently disabled was just kind of left to the side.
GLAMOUR: Had you ever thought about the lives of the disabled people before?
AMB: I knew that there were several students at Villanova who were physically disabled, but I didn’t really know more than that. Then I had this moment after the race of, ‘Wow, there’s something wrong with this picture.’ That’s what prompted me to go to the Office of Disability Services and share my experience and ask what group I could get involved with. The guy looked at me like I was crazy. He was like, “What are you talking about? There isn’t anything on campus.”
GLAMOUR: It clearly didn’t end there.
AMB: I kept asking questions. I said, “Well, I know there are students here with disabilities, so what do they do?” I was told that they were with paid adults 24/7. It shocked me because here I was, a freshman who’d just come away to college, and I was really excited to have the independence and the chance to really grow as a person and be in charge of myself. If I decided I didn’t want to do my homework one night, no one was going to be there saying, “Ari, did you do your homework?” Thinking about the disabled students who were always with adults – you’d always have an adult looking over your shoulder, and that didn’t feel fair.
GLAMOUR: So LEVEL was born to build community and “level” the playing field for disabled students. What’s the group’s biggest accomplishment to date?
AMB: There is no longer adult aid and extra support at Villanova – all of the homework help and support outside of the classroom for physically disabled students is with volunteer students. And what’s been great is the friendships that have come and grown. Because it is nerve-racking to work with a student with cerebral palsy for the first time.
GLAMOUR: What are some of the new experiences you’ve been able to offer students with disabilities?
AMB: We had a student go to a sorority function for the first time ever. He is in a wheelchair, has cerebral palsy, and got invited. It was the highlight of his year. We had another student who had never been to any sort of college party or student activity go to a real college Halloween party. He got dressed up, went out, and people really accepted him.
GLAMOUR: That’s awesome. What was his costume?
AMB: We actually went as a tennis doubles team. He was Andy Roddick, and I was Maria Sharapova. It was a really good night. What’s great is that I’ll walk around campus now and, instead of being in their rooms, these students are out having lunch with people and out on the weekends. Trying to get like a date with Frankie, the student with the really severe case of cerebral palsy I worked with a lot last year, he’s always like, “Oh no, I’ve already got plans, sorry! Maybe in two weeks.” I thought I was busy.
GLAMOUR: What really drives your activism work?
AMB: I come from a two-mom household. My moms went through a lot of discrimination, and it was sometimes a difficult experience growing up. We did a lot of untraditional, out-of-the-box things because they wouldn’t be accepted in certain places. So I really understand what it feels like to be on the outside looking in, and I think that’s why having an inclusive community is something that’s so important to me. Because that feeling sucks: When so many people are having a good time, and you’re the one person on the outside. It’s what makes me want to include as many people as possible.