Annie Sullivan League
Alicia Knott: Creating a Place of Belonging
By Craig Escudé, MD, FAAFP, FAADM
For Alicia Knott, inclusion is about much more than simply being present. It is about belonging, being recognized for what you can contribute, and having the opportunity to pursue the same goals and experiences as everyone else.
Alicia brings that philosophy to her work with the Tiger Access Program at Chattanooga State Community College, where she helps students with intellectual and developmental disabilities experience college life, build skills, explore their interests, and prepare for employment.
Tiger Access is a two-year program serving students ages 18 to 28. Students have opportunities to participate in college classes while also receiving additional instruction and support in areas such as life skills, relationships, health, and preparation for employment. Alicia helps students identify classes that match their interests, which have included photography, culinary arts, animation, and other areas. When possible, she also accompanies and mentors students in their classes or helps coordinate other mentors who can provide support.
Alicia’s interest in supporting people with disabilities began early. Her mother was a special education teacher, and Alicia remembers helping with her mother's students. Years later, while Alicia herself was a student at Chattanooga State, the Tiger Access Program began. She started mentoring students in the new program and, after graduating from Chattanooga State, told the program's leadership that she wanted to return and continue the work.
Today, she gets to see firsthand what can happen when people are given opportunities and support.
One of Alicia's favorite parts of her work is watching students change from the time they enter the program until they graduate.
“I like to see how much they grow,” she says, describing how students often begin to recognize that they are capable of much more than they originally believed.
That growing confidence is important to Alicia. One message she frequently shares with her students is:
“Disability is the disbelief that you are able to do something.”
The Tiger Access Program is now in its fourth year, and Alicia has already seen graduates take significant next steps. One former student returned to Chattanooga State to take courses for college credit. Another graduate moved into employment and now returns to campus weekly to help with Tiger Access.
Those successes illustrate something Alicia sees every day: expectations matter.
Sometimes, one of the greatest challenges is simply helping others recognize what students with disabilities are capable of accomplishing. While Alicia says many professors have been extremely supportive and welcoming, there are still occasions when people may hesitate because they do not fully understand a student's abilities.
That is where education, experience, and personal relationships can make a difference. Students in traditional college classes also interact with Tiger Access participants, and some become mentors themselves. In the process, inclusion becomes a learning experience for everyone.
Alicia also brings an important perspective to conversations about accessibility because of her own lived experience. She has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair for mobility. Navigating spaces that were not designed with wheelchair users in mind has helped her identify practical ways the campus can become more accessible. She has worked with campus staff to address physical barriers and create spaces that work better for people with different mobility needs.
Her perspective reinforces an important principle: accessibility often benefits everyone. Creating environments that are easier to navigate for people with disabilities can also make those environments easier and more welcoming for many others.
But for Alicia, accessibility is about more than buildings, sidewalks, classrooms, or physical space.
It is about creating a place of belonging.
That is what she hopes Tiger Access provides for its students. She wants people with disabilities to feel included in college life rather than separated from it. She also hopes programs like Tiger Access continue to grow and inspire more colleges to create meaningful postsecondary opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Alicia's message to others is simple but powerful: people with disabilities may learn differently, communicate differently, or move through the world differently, but those differences should never be a reason to exclude someone.
She also reminds us that appearances do not tell us what another person thinks, feels, wants, or can accomplish. A person who looks different from us still experiences many of the same emotions, hopes, relationships, challenges, and desires for acceptance that we all share.
Through her work, Alicia is helping students discover possibilities for themselves while also helping a larger college community recognize those possibilities.
Whether she is mentoring a student in class, helping someone explore a career interest, advocating for greater accessibility, or simply encouraging a student to believe more fully in their own abilities, Alicia approaches her work with determination, empathy, and a deep commitment to inclusion.
For her dedication to creating opportunities, promoting accessibility, encouraging people with disabilities to recognize their own potential, and helping build communities where everyone can experience a true sense of belonging, we are proud to welcome Alicia Knott into the Annie Sullivan League.
About the Author
Craig Escudé, MD, FAAFP, FAADM is a board-certified Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Academy of Developmental Medicine. He has more than 20 years of clinical experience providing medical care for people with IDD and complex medical and mental health conditions.
He is the author of “Clinical Pearls in IDD Healthcare” and developer of the “Curriculum in IDD Healthcare,” an eLearning course used to train clinicians on the fundamentals of healthcare for people with IDD.