Meet Luis. At the age of 7, he was diagnosed with an intellectual disability. Despite how difficult his classes were for him, he never lost his love of learning or his sense of curiosity. A goal he set for himself in high school was to go to college. He attended Tidewater Community College for a year but struggled academically without the numerous accommodations he had in high school, so he decided to take a break and regroup.

Last summer, we became aware of a program at the College of Charleston in South Carolina designed specifically for students with intellectual disabilities. This program--called CharlestonLIFE--will allow Luis to study at a 4-year college, learn life skills, gain hands-on work experience through internships, and build community through participation in campus activities. He will live on campus and will have several academic supports in place to help him be successful. Many colleges across the country offer similar programs, but C of C's program is far and away the best fit for him. In short, it is a dream come true, and he applied as soon as applications opened up last August.

Then the unthinkable happened. Luis' father Troy became ill and passed away suddenly in October. While Troy was in the hospital, we received the news that Luis was being invited to campus for an interview with the CharlestonLIFE directors. In mid-November, we travelled to Charleston for his interview, and he was completely smitten with the campus. A week later (which happened to be the evening before Troy's Celebration of Life), Luis received his acceptance email. The fact that he received the good news while surrounded by family was just icing on the cake.

Since that time, we have been eagerly awaiting the Fall 2025 semester. Now that we are about two months away from his move-in date, we are busy prepping for campus life. We are also in the throes of examining every possible option for funding an out-of-state, four-year college program. Because CharlestonLIFE is a comprehensive transition and postsecondary (CTP) program, his options for financial aid are limited. In an effort to keep the amount of loans he will need to take as low as possible, we are asking for help from anyone who is willing and able to give it.