There is no better person to say “thank you” than a student who has benefited from Prep’s Learning Resource Center and Regina Melonson’s tireless commitment to education. Agnes Davila ’21 met Melonson when she first arrived on the Seattle Prep campus. “Welcoming, warm, and loving,” glows Davila. Now, five years later as a first-year college student, and 2,000 miles away, Agnes is the one reaching out to new students on the Loyola University of Chicago campus, paying forward the life lessons taught by Melonson.

“As a person with ADHD, Regina was the first person who acknowledged me as a whole human and showed me that I am not defined by my weakness but by my strengths,” says Davila. The Learning Resource Center at Prep, headed by Melonson, designed an Individualized Education Program that provided Davila with study skills, extended test time and support for writing essays. But, it was Melonson’s persistent belief in advocating for what you need that stuck with Davila. “If I wasn’t getting something at Prep she would step in and say, ‘Agnes needs this to succeed.’” She wanted me to perform at my best and taught me to acknowledge what I need and then ask for it. She even engaged in mock meetings to simulate conversations with teachers.”

So, it came as a surprise when Davila went to college and was met with limited support from the school’s Student Accessibility Center. The assistance from the thinly staffed office was insufficient, unfriendly, and often felt more like an interrogation than support, says Davila. But rather than see this as an impediment Davila saw it as an opportunity. She set out to redefine accessibility for those who needed it the most. In March of her freshman year, she had cofounded a Students with Disabilities Coalition at her school. In 2022, this co-founder and her fledgling group of 10 students will provide support and advocacy for Loyola students with learning and/or physical disabilities and fundraise for the Accessibility Office. Already the student organization has generated buzz, social media is in full swing, student government has offered their partnership, and the coalition has even lined up their first guest speaker—a campus professor with autism—to share his story about succeeding in academia.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Davila has it right. “I had such a great experience at Prep,” she says. “The school gave me the foundation to advocate for myself and that has made all the difference.”