Check Out Our Podcast: The Verdict
If you or someone you love has experienced a life-changing injury, going back to school may feel impossible, but it’s not. In this episode, we continue our conversation with Dr. Lowell Davis, the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at the University of Texas at Arlington, by discussing how universities and community colleges are creating more inclusive, adaptive pathways for students with physical or cognitive injuries.
From financial aid and disability accommodations to adult learners and transition programs, Lowell offers both professional insight and personal encouragement. He explains how programs like CTPE (College and Transition Programs for Employment) are expanding across North Carolina — and how persistence, not perfection, is the key to finding the right fit. Whether you're 18 or 58, we hope this discussion offers hope, direction, and practical next steps for those ready to rebuild through education.
Here’s what we discuss in this episode:
🏫 Education options for adults recovering from injury
💰 Scholarships, financial aid, and affordable program pathways
♿ How colleges support students with physical or cognitive disabilities
🔁 Starting at community college and transferring to a 4-year university
🧭 Why perseverance matters more than a perfect GPA or SAT score
0:00 – Support from the state of North Carolina
2:26 – Growth in programs
5:38 – Any age limitations?
6:38 – Passion for helping others
10:04 – Financial aid opportunities
13:49 – Community colleges
About our guest: https://resources.uta.edu/student-affairs/vice-president.php
Lowell davis, education, accessibility, disabilities, catastrophic injuries, services, north Carolina,
Learn more about how Speaks Law Firm can help you: https://www.speakslaw.com/
Schedule your FREE case review: https://www.speakslaw.com/our-team/r-clarke-speaks/#contactFormTarget
Find us on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3R40YMP
00:00
I'm Clark, speaks the catastrophic injury lawyer. Welcome to the verdict. This is catastrophic comeback.
00:08
And you've mentioned that there are several schools in North Carolina. Appalachian was one. UNC w is working on having these additional programs and funds and those things you mentioned another school. What was the other school? You mentioned University of North Carolina, Greensboro, UNCG, and then just just to go back, one of the politicians that's instrumental in helping helping this, I think it makes sense for us to recognize Michael Lee and his support of this program, which means a lot to you personally, is that fair? It does. I talked to Senator Lee. I would see him out in the community and talk to him, and I developed this proposal. He said, Lowell, let's talk about it. And I saw him at an event, and he said, Hey, Lowell, what's going on? And so I sent it to him. We had a conversation about it. I talked with his legislative aide, and I didn't really hear anything, but I read, I, you know, keep in contact with or kind of follow what's happening in the General Assembly. And I saw 1 million recurring dollars that will go to UNC Wilmington for this program. And regardless of your politics, that's amazing, yeah, and it shows a commitment to students in southeastern North Carolina who may age out of who will graduate from high school with a diploma, but really don't understand what's next. And so I would say it's really a further more of a partnership with Superintendent New Hanover County Schools, Dr Charles Faust, and working with Senator Lee, this has the ability to be
01:53
really groundbreaking in southeastern North Carolina. And my chancellor, Swanee valletti, knows that I don't like to do anything on a small scale, and so being here, you know, I would want to make this a
02:10
top notch Premier, just kind of one of a kind program that would be recognized, not only nationally, but internationally, for individuals who want to have and live a normal life well. So it's what it seems to me, that if you put all this together, it seems to me that there is an increasing interest on the part of
02:36
higher education of people, not just you, but also people who do what you do to recognize places where they could add value in people's lives, maybe even in people's lives who have disabilities, mental or physical, that are non traditional college students. Is that fair? Absolutely. I mean, we would be the Western Carolina. I'm sorry, they did have a program
03:03
of similar nature that they kind of started with grant funds. And if my memory is correct, they no longer have the program. But you're dealing with two programs in a 16 institution system, public institutions in the state of North Carolina and nothing in southeastern North Carolina, I would say Greensboro may maybe Central
03:26
and upstate Western but nothing on the eastern part of the state, and very few have been recognized by the Department of Education, because you can receive the designation by the US Department of Education as a recognized ctpe program. And that would be my goal, is to have UNC W recognized, but we are getting there. The numbers are small, but we are trying to make progress to create more of those programs for students, even if it's not one of these recognized programs would would, is it fair to say that all, most all universities and community colleges in North and South Carolina would probably have programs that would be intended to help people who are have mental and physical injuries participate and do the things they need to do to advance themselves, absolutely, if they are, in Fact, enrolled in college, and if they are college age student, this program, the ctpe program,
04:28
you may not be in credit bearing classes. This is simply a program on a college campus to give you a college experience where you may take credit bearing classes, depending on how you shape your program, or you may take courses that are more focused on life skills. The goal is for you to leave this program and to go out and to be a functioning citizen in the community. And it takes on a lot of different shapes. What works at UNCG may not work at UNC. W, some pros.
05:00
Programs have started, and they've asked families to foot the bill, and families are, in some instances, paying I use this term. It's probably not the best term to use, but full freight or full cost of their son or daughter or loved one to participate in a program like this. What Senator Lee is doing is saying, I'm going to give you some money on a recurring basis to not only staff it, but to give some scholarships to some students who may not have family members who can pay to participate in a program like this, so they have a shot at being successful in life, just like someone whose parents can pay well. So that's my next question. But you brought up something interesting. You said college age students. But so when I, when I think about this, like some of our
05:46
clients, I mean, they might be 50 years old and 40, they might be all different ages. So so is the, is there a, is there an age limitation to to go into school and participate in these education and re education program? Absolutely not. I think I read an article where a person was in their 90s and walked across the stage last week at an institution
06:08
as the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. We made some modifications to commencement this year, and I have the opportunity to witness every single student that walks across our stage at UNC W and I can tell you that a majority of the students, just visually, may appear to be college age, but there are a number of students and a significant number of students who are what we call in higher education, adult learners. So it's so it sounds like to me that universities and colleges and community college would just fundamentally and the people that work in those environments would be really supportive of trying to find a way to help somebody gain the education or re education they need to start something new after something catastrophic. Is that fair? Absolutely, you know, we did not people who
07:06
I'm going to say, go into administration or go into higher education. There is most definitely not a lot of money. And so you do it because you care. You do it because you love what you do. You want to make a difference, and you want to impact the lives of the individuals that you come in common. Individuals that you come in contact with. And so if you have experienced an injury and you have a desire to go to college, there are people on campuses that are there to assist you, and they want to see you graduate from those institutions. I went to a wedding of a former student of mine at the University of Alabama. And so you have to think, I have not communicated with this. I've stayed in contact, but I have not been a part of this student's life for probably 10, over 10 plus years, and this student had some challenges that I had completely forgotten about. It wasn't as I went to their wedding and I was the only person in university that was invited, and they said, Dr Davis, you remember you did this? And you did that? I said I had no clue. And at that time, I'll be honest with you, I took a job
08:12
25 with a ton of loans, making $41,000 a year
08:19
with a PhD that I knew I had to pay loans back to pay for,
08:23
and my loans exceeded six figures, right? I didn't go into higher education thinking or knowing that I was gonna make money. I went into it, as I said earlier, because I saw a mother work in a K 12 school system who would pray every morning, allow me to make a difference. And so I went to higher education to do the same thing. And I guarantee you, for anyone who's watching or listening, there are people on college campuses who didn't go into it for the money. They went into it to help someone just like you. Well, so now that you mentioned it, my mother was a third grade teacher for 35 years, and and people come up to me to on a regular basis, even even today, and set talk about how big of an impact she had on their lives. And so I think it is important to recognize that at all levels of of education, you can find people who are going to try to help you go from where you are to the place where you want to be, and it's sometimes it's a matter of just finding and connecting with those people absolutely and so don't get discouraged. You know, if you call an office and you don't get the answer that you're looking for, keep calling, keep you know, be persistent, and you will find the person who will, who will help you. I think that's to be said, to be said for a lot of things, is that the being persistence and to persevere through some of these things, it's going to be there are going to be times when doing the things that you need to do to rebuild your life after something catastrophic are going to be challenging, you know, but it's a matter of not, not accepting, no and setting.
10:00
Your goals and to taking the steps that you need to try to reach them. Let me ask you this.
10:05
You did mention financial aid and scholarships and financing. Of these
10:11
are there are there is there financing and financial aid available for non traditional students, people who are maybe older, or people who are going back to school or or people who were trying to trying to recover from a devastating injury, absolutely and so you must complete your FAFSA, which is a form that will ask your income and information and will that you will then submit that to the financial aid office, and it will tell you if you are eligible for any grants, any loans or any scholarships. What if people maybe didn't graduate from high school, or maybe didn't have great grades in high school, or maybe didn't have a super high SATs core, what would be their path to try to try to get into a college or a community college and and take the steps that you're describing, I would say, if your academics who are maybe less than than you would like for them to be, there's no problem with starting at a community college. Most of our community colleges, or some of them have open enrollment. You know, there's nothing wrong with starting at the community college. And I would say you may not remember this, or people who are watching this or listening, there was a TV show called the rock on on TV. And this was years ago. I was probably less than 10 when this TV show was on, and I was in, heard somewhere that the main character went from jail to Yale Drama Department, and so if this person went from incarceration to an Ivy League institution to having a prime time television TV show,
11:57
you can do it. Never give up. People will tell you, no blocks will be thrown in your path every step of the way. There are hurdles that you will have to overcome and jump over. There are things that happened to me personally in life where I could have said, You know what, I'm just gonna call it quits and I'm not going to continue to pursue my PhD. I wrote my dissertation from an ICU waiting room. So you cannot give up. And I just think about this individual who from jail to Yale
12:30
to a prime time to being the main character in a prime time TV show. So if nothing else, regardless of your injury, regardless of what someone may tell you, don't give up. Don't think it can't be done. Don't think if it is incarceration, that you can't come out and you can't be successful, because there is evidence that you can do it well. And so as you're talking, it's some, some of my past clients who have, some of them have been guests on the show have come into my mind, and I'm struck by just how tough and resilient and strong they were in trying to, you
13:10
know, recover and overcome their medical, medical injuries and you know, and what an inspiration they are to themselves, to their I mean, to their families and to other in their medical providers, and to us as their legal team and and then I saw it so, so, so I don't think that they would have, I mean, they are tough, strong, resilient people, and they find strength in these difficult situations. So I think it's more of a matter of having direction than it is to have having strength and determination, because they have demonstrated that they have that. So maybe this will help them with some finding some direction. And one of the things that I've noticed
13:53
is that a lot of community colleges are now very much integrated into the university system, with the idea in mind that we will start people here, and we our plan, our path, our intention is to get them to the point where they can succeed at another college in a four year institution. Is that fair? Absolutely. A few years ago, the state of North Carolina went to a common course numbering system, and so the English class that you may take at Cape Fear Community College here in Wilmington, Intro to I'm going to say written communication, English 101, let's say for as an example, it's probably going to be English 101, at UNC W and that has, I think, allowed students an opportunity to check kind of the box, or to the course that they've taken at a community college, at a community college, to verify how It may transfer, how it may transfer to a public institution in the state of North Carolina, you may start at a community college. That doesn't mean you have to stop at a community college. You can continue to go
14:52
and continue to pursue a baccalaureate degree. So if I understand you correctly, then let's say someone does start at a community college, and they.
15:00
Have to take English and they have to take math and history and science and all that. What you're saying is they will that will help them do the things they need to do to maybe gain admission to a four year institution. But in addition, they will ultimately get credit for those classes, and that will be work that will count towards their completion of their four year institution requirements, absolutely so most courses, not all, may transfer to a
15:27
public four year institution in the state of North Carolina,
15:32
as long as you maintain a certain grade point average and you successfully complete a certain number of credit hours, there are institutions that will offer you admission. I mean, I know this is not where you work, but is it reasonable to assume that these community college would would have accommodations made for
15:52
people with physical and mental disabilities, like prompts and and maybe extended time for tests for someone who that with a TBI, those types of things. Absolutely, the federal government of and my graduate Special Ed instructor, if she watches this, would be upset. But the section 504 compliance says you have to have ramps. Buildings have to be handicapped accessible. And so when you think about when you walk in, maybe the grocery store, you walk into a building and you see a handicap button there, to the right or to the left. The Federal Government requires us to have those buttons and to make sure that there are ramps and that buildings are accessible for individuals, and we have to comply with Department of Education and Office of Civil Rights legislation by making sure that we offer those students resources and accommodations who come to our institution, and if you don't comply, it can be an OCR complaint, which no institution wants to face that. Thanks for joining us. Don't forget to subscribe and follow us to stay up to date with our weekly episodes. We'll see you next time you.
00:00
I'm Clark, speaks the catastrophic injury lawyer. Welcome to the verdict. This is catastrophic comeback.
00:08
And you've mentioned that there are several schools in North Carolina. Appalachian was one. UNC w is working on having these additional programs and funds and those things you mentioned another school. What was the other school? You mentioned University of North Carolina, Greensboro, UNCG, and then just just to go back, one of the politicians that's instrumental in helping helping this, I think it makes sense for us to recognize Michael Lee and his support of this program, which means a lot to you personally, is that fair? It does. I talked to Senator Lee. I would see him out in the community and talk to him, and I developed this proposal. He said, Lowell, let's talk about it. And I saw him at an event, and he said, Hey, Lowell, what's going on? And so I sent it to him. We had a conversation about it. I talked with his legislative aide, and I didn't really hear anything, but I read, I, you know, keep in contact with or kind of follow what's happening in the General Assembly. And I saw 1 million recurring dollars that will go to UNC Wilmington for this program. And regardless of your politics, that's amazing, yeah, and it shows a commitment to students in southeastern North Carolina who may age out of who will graduate from high school with a diploma, but really don't understand what's next. And so I would say it's really a further more of a partnership with Superintendent New Hanover County Schools, Dr Charles Faust, and working with Senator Lee, this has the ability to be
01:53
really groundbreaking in southeastern North Carolina. And my chancellor, Swanee valletti, knows that I don't like to do anything on a small scale, and so being here, you know, I would want to make this a
02:10
top notch Premier, just kind of one of a kind program that would be recognized, not only nationally, but internationally, for individuals who want to have and live a normal life well. So it's what it seems to me, that if you put all this together, it seems to me that there is an increasing interest on the part of
02:36
higher education of people, not just you, but also people who do what you do to recognize places where they could add value in people's lives, maybe even in people's lives who have disabilities, mental or physical, that are non traditional college students. Is that fair? Absolutely. I mean, we would be the Western Carolina. I'm sorry, they did have a program
03:03
of similar nature that they kind of started with grant funds. And if my memory is correct, they no longer have the program. But you're dealing with two programs in a 16 institution system, public institutions in the state of North Carolina and nothing in southeastern North Carolina, I would say Greensboro may maybe Central
03:26
and upstate Western but nothing on the eastern part of the state, and very few have been recognized by the Department of Education, because you can receive the designation by the US Department of Education as a recognized ctpe program. And that would be my goal, is to have UNC W recognized, but we are getting there. The numbers are small, but we are trying to make progress to create more of those programs for students, even if it's not one of these recognized programs would would, is it fair to say that all, most all universities and community colleges in North and South Carolina would probably have programs that would be intended to help people who are have mental and physical injuries participate and do the things they need to do to advance themselves, absolutely, if they are, in Fact, enrolled in college, and if they are college age student, this program, the ctpe program,
04:28
you may not be in credit bearing classes. This is simply a program on a college campus to give you a college experience where you may take credit bearing classes, depending on how you shape your program, or you may take courses that are more focused on life skills. The goal is for you to leave this program and to go out and to be a functioning citizen in the community. And it takes on a lot of different shapes. What works at UNCG may not work at UNC. W, some pros.
05:00
Programs have started, and they've asked families to foot the bill, and families are, in some instances, paying I use this term. It's probably not the best term to use, but full freight or full cost of their son or daughter or loved one to participate in a program like this. What Senator Lee is doing is saying, I'm going to give you some money on a recurring basis to not only staff it, but to give some scholarships to some students who may not have family members who can pay to participate in a program like this, so they have a shot at being successful in life, just like someone whose parents can pay well. So that's my next question. But you brought up something interesting. You said college age students. But so when I, when I think about this, like some of our
05:46
clients, I mean, they might be 50 years old and 40, they might be all different ages. So so is the, is there a, is there an age limitation to to go into school and participate in these education and re education program? Absolutely not. I think I read an article where a person was in their 90s and walked across the stage last week at an institution
06:08
as the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. We made some modifications to commencement this year, and I have the opportunity to witness every single student that walks across our stage at UNC W and I can tell you that a majority of the students, just visually, may appear to be college age, but there are a number of students and a significant number of students who are what we call in higher education, adult learners. So it's so it sounds like to me that universities and colleges and community college would just fundamentally and the people that work in those environments would be really supportive of trying to find a way to help somebody gain the education or re education they need to start something new after something catastrophic. Is that fair? Absolutely, you know, we did not people who
07:06
I'm going to say, go into administration or go into higher education. There is most definitely not a lot of money. And so you do it because you care. You do it because you love what you do. You want to make a difference, and you want to impact the lives of the individuals that you come in common. Individuals that you come in contact with. And so if you have experienced an injury and you have a desire to go to college, there are people on campuses that are there to assist you, and they want to see you graduate from those institutions. I went to a wedding of a former student of mine at the University of Alabama. And so you have to think, I have not communicated with this. I've stayed in contact, but I have not been a part of this student's life for probably 10, over 10 plus years, and this student had some challenges that I had completely forgotten about. It wasn't as I went to their wedding and I was the only person in university that was invited, and they said, Dr Davis, you remember you did this? And you did that? I said I had no clue. And at that time, I'll be honest with you, I took a job
08:12
25 with a ton of loans, making $41,000 a year
08:19
with a PhD that I knew I had to pay loans back to pay for,
08:23
and my loans exceeded six figures, right? I didn't go into higher education thinking or knowing that I was gonna make money. I went into it, as I said earlier, because I saw a mother work in a K 12 school system who would pray every morning, allow me to make a difference. And so I went to higher education to do the same thing. And I guarantee you, for anyone who's watching or listening, there are people on college campuses who didn't go into it for the money. They went into it to help someone just like you. Well, so now that you mentioned it, my mother was a third grade teacher for 35 years, and and people come up to me to on a regular basis, even even today, and set talk about how big of an impact she had on their lives. And so I think it is important to recognize that at all levels of of education, you can find people who are going to try to help you go from where you are to the place where you want to be, and it's sometimes it's a matter of just finding and connecting with those people absolutely and so don't get discouraged. You know, if you call an office and you don't get the answer that you're looking for, keep calling, keep you know, be persistent, and you will find the person who will, who will help you. I think that's to be said, to be said for a lot of things, is that the being persistence and to persevere through some of these things, it's going to be there are going to be times when doing the things that you need to do to rebuild your life after something catastrophic are going to be challenging, you know, but it's a matter of not, not accepting, no and setting.
10:00
Your goals and to taking the steps that you need to try to reach them. Let me ask you this.
10:05
You did mention financial aid and scholarships and financing. Of these
10:11
are there are there is there financing and financial aid available for non traditional students, people who are maybe older, or people who are going back to school or or people who were trying to trying to recover from a devastating injury, absolutely and so you must complete your FAFSA, which is a form that will ask your income and information and will that you will then submit that to the financial aid office, and it will tell you if you are eligible for any grants, any loans or any scholarships. What if people maybe didn't graduate from high school, or maybe didn't have great grades in high school, or maybe didn't have a super high SATs core, what would be their path to try to try to get into a college or a community college and and take the steps that you're describing, I would say, if your academics who are maybe less than than you would like for them to be, there's no problem with starting at a community college. Most of our community colleges, or some of them have open enrollment. You know, there's nothing wrong with starting at the community college. And I would say you may not remember this, or people who are watching this or listening, there was a TV show called the rock on on TV. And this was years ago. I was probably less than 10 when this TV show was on, and I was in, heard somewhere that the main character went from jail to Yale Drama Department, and so if this person went from incarceration to an Ivy League institution to having a prime time television TV show,
11:57
you can do it. Never give up. People will tell you, no blocks will be thrown in your path every step of the way. There are hurdles that you will have to overcome and jump over. There are things that happened to me personally in life where I could have said, You know what, I'm just gonna call it quits and I'm not going to continue to pursue my PhD. I wrote my dissertation from an ICU waiting room. So you cannot give up. And I just think about this individual who from jail to Yale
12:30
to a prime time to being the main character in a prime time TV show. So if nothing else, regardless of your injury, regardless of what someone may tell you, don't give up. Don't think it can't be done. Don't think if it is incarceration, that you can't come out and you can't be successful, because there is evidence that you can do it well. And so as you're talking, it's some, some of my past clients who have, some of them have been guests on the show have come into my mind, and I'm struck by just how tough and resilient and strong they were in trying to, you
13:10
know, recover and overcome their medical, medical injuries and you know, and what an inspiration they are to themselves, to their I mean, to their families and to other in their medical providers, and to us as their legal team and and then I saw it so, so, so I don't think that they would have, I mean, they are tough, strong, resilient people, and they find strength in these difficult situations. So I think it's more of a matter of having direction than it is to have having strength and determination, because they have demonstrated that they have that. So maybe this will help them with some finding some direction. And one of the things that I've noticed
13:53
is that a lot of community colleges are now very much integrated into the university system, with the idea in mind that we will start people here, and we our plan, our path, our intention is to get them to the point where they can succeed at another college in a four year institution. Is that fair? Absolutely. A few years ago, the state of North Carolina went to a common course numbering system, and so the English class that you may take at Cape Fear Community College here in Wilmington, Intro to I'm going to say written communication, English 101, let's say for as an example, it's probably going to be English 101, at UNC W and that has, I think, allowed students an opportunity to check kind of the box, or to the course that they've taken at a community college, at a community college, to verify how It may transfer, how it may transfer to a public institution in the state of North Carolina, you may start at a community college. That doesn't mean you have to stop at a community college. You can continue to go
14:52
and continue to pursue a baccalaureate degree. So if I understand you correctly, then let's say someone does start at a community college, and they.
15:00
Have to take English and they have to take math and history and science and all that. What you're saying is they will that will help them do the things they need to do to maybe gain admission to a four year institution. But in addition, they will ultimately get credit for those classes, and that will be work that will count towards their completion of their four year institution requirements, absolutely so most courses, not all, may transfer to a
15:27
public four year institution in the state of North Carolina,
15:32
as long as you maintain a certain grade point average and you successfully complete a certain number of credit hours, there are institutions that will offer you admission. I mean, I know this is not where you work, but is it reasonable to assume that these community college would would have accommodations made for
15:52
people with physical and mental disabilities, like prompts and and maybe extended time for tests for someone who that with a TBI, those types of things. Absolutely, the federal government of and my graduate Special Ed instructor, if she watches this, would be upset. But the section 504 compliance says you have to have ramps. Buildings have to be handicapped accessible. And so when you think about when you walk in, maybe the grocery store, you walk into a building and you see a handicap button there, to the right or to the left. The Federal Government requires us to have those buttons and to make sure that there are ramps and that buildings are accessible for individuals, and we have to comply with Department of Education and Office of Civil Rights legislation by making sure that we offer those students resources and accommodations who come to our institution, and if you don't comply, it can be an OCR complaint, which no institution wants to face that. Thanks for joining us. Don't forget to subscribe and follow us to stay up to date with our weekly episodes. We'll see you next time you.
