When Bryan Hilbert arrived at UNLV in 2015, the Disability Resource Center — which served about 750 students — still relied on manual processes. Medical forms had to be printed and filled out, then hand-delivered to the DRC. Students had to commute to campus for a single use of an assistive device. And if they wanted to use a study room for exam proctoring, they would need to get written permission from professors.

Managing those logistics was frustrating enough, but the physical reality was made all the more difficult as the DRC was scattered into several offices across campus. It wasn’t until August 2022 that the center moved into a larger, consolidated space within the Campus Resource Center.

The move became even more crucial as the number of students in need of resources increased. Today, about 2,500 students are registered with the DRC. Each academic year, DRC  staff work directly with around 2,000 students across roughly 4,000 courses.

But for Hilbert, the numbers are only part of the story.

“What is most important to me about my job is that there are bright and capable students who have graduated from UNLV and gone on to great success,” he said. “And that the supports that we provided [those individuals] were key to that success.”

Support in Practice

For Emoniqueka “Emma” Campbell, an applied health sciences student and U.S. Air Force veteran, that support is leading to a career in healthcare.

A first-generation college student from Los Angeles, Campbell served in the Air Force from 2016 to 2024 as a certified pharmacy technician at Eglin, Travis, and Nellis Air Force bases, gaining experience in various areas of clinical medicine. That work inspired her to enroll at UNLV’s School of Integrated Health Sciences.

Campbell first learned about the Disability Resource Center through UNLV’s Military and Veteran Services Center.

“I use the testing facilities due to testing anxiety and my dyslexia. I typically need more time to read questions and sometimes need to read them aloud — so being able to take the test in a private place with no distractions helps me focus,” Emma said.

Requesting accommodations through the DRC’s website and scheduling exams through RegisterBlast have made it easy for her to access those services.

“Once you understand how everything works, it becomes much easier to navigate,” Campbell said.

Using the DRC’s services has also helped Campbell see accommodations as a resource rather than a reflection of her abilities.

“I think one of the biggest things I learned was that asking for support doesn’t mean that you’re not capable of succeeding,” she said. “Sometimes you just need access to the right resources to give yourself the opportunity to perform at your best.”

The DRC staff have also become a familiar source of support for Campbell as she moves through college.

“What has stood out to me most is knowing that I can call the DRC whenever I have questions and be met with friendly, supportive people who are genuinely willing to help,” she said. “That level of accessibility and responsiveness has made a big difference in my experience and has made the process feel much less stressful.”

Support Shaped by Experience

For Kat Palma, a disability specialist and communication access coordinator who works primarily with deaf and hard-of-hearing students, supporting students at the DRC feels like a way to pay forward the support she received herself.

Palma came to the DRC as a student worker while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nutrition sciences at UNLV. She started as an alternative media processor but also worked with assistive technology, notetaking, testing, and other areas of the office. In the process, she saw how much work goes into making a course accessible, from serving as a lab aide for students with limited mobility to processing alternative media behind the scenes.

“I knew anything I did at the office was important for our students, even the mundane and seemingly minute tasks,” she said.

After graduating in 2024, Palma returned to the DRC in her current role, primarily supporting deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Her time as a student worker had changed how she understood disability services in light of her own experience. She had gone through K-12 and much of college without a diagnosis or the support that was available to other students.

“Working at the DRC made me realize I missed out on an entire community and the support that could have been offered to me,” Palma said. “So I’ve made it my mission to get my students as connected as possible with our office and our campus partners, so no one else goes through college feeling alone.”

Rebecca Robinson also knows firsthand what it can mean to navigate college without the right support. Now a DRC disability specialist, Robinson was 24 when she returned to college for the second time. A professor recognized that there was something more to her struggles with learning and encouraged her to seek an evaluation for a learning disability. She received her first academic accommodations, including extended testing time and lecture recordings, which gave her the repetition she needed to process and retain information.

“I know that sounds cliché, but it’s true,” Robinson said of how accommodations changed her life.

That experience shaped the direction of her career. Robinson went on to earn a degree in liberal studies and complete a teaching credential program at California State University San Marcos. At CSU, she supported students through assistive technology, converting textbooks into alternative formats for students with vision impairments. After graduation, she taught in special education and as a substitute before joining UNLV.

She now draws on those experiences in supporting students at the DRC. 

“I have met many students that did not view themselves as a learner until they got equitable access to their education,” she said.

Robinson recalled one student who had received accommodations in high school but tried to manage college without them. After struggling on a calculus exam, the student began using the DRC’s testing center, where extended time was paired with a quieter environment and privacy walls. The student ultimately raised their grade and passed the course with a B.

“I cannot give students the confidence they need, but I do get to see students build their own confidence brick by brick,” she said.

From Support to Self-Advocacy

In K-12 education, schools are responsible for identifying students who need support and putting accommodations in place. In higher education, students take a more active role in seeking those resources.

The DRC helps students make that transition through presentations at new student orientation and Rebel Ready Week, as well as training faculty, resident assistants, and other student-facing employees. Staff also connect students with campus resources beyond the DRC, including the Academic Success Center and Writing Center.

The goal is not to lower expectations, but to give students equitable access to an education and help them learn to advocate for what they need, Hilbert said.

“If you walk across the stage and get a degree from UNLV, you have done the same work as anyone else,” he said. “What accommodations mean is, you’ve taken a look at where you may struggle, and we put supports in place so that you can actually do the work to get there.”

That philosophy is personal for Hilbert.

He has cerebral palsy and was a first-generation college student. 

“When I turned 18, I was evaluated and was given Social Security disability, which is a wonderful support, but it’s a challenge to live on for your whole life,” Hilbert said. “I went from a person the government deemed too disabled to work to — with education, with my university experience — running a department with a budget of more than a million dollars.”

For Campbell, that support is helping her prepare for what comes next. After UNLV, she plans to attend physician assistant school and eventually work in oncology.

“I want to use my experiences as a veteran, health care professional, and student to advocate for my patients and help make their health care experience a little easier,” Campbell said.