Shelbi Davenport ’20 dreamed of attending Texas A&M University like her mother, but a high school counselor told her she could not handle college due to her disability. Growing up in a small town with limited resources, Davenport knew the odds were stacked against her, until a program in Texas A&M’s Center on Disability and Development (CDD) aided in her journey.

Davenport first heard about the Postsecondary Access and Training in Human Services (PATHS) Certificate Program while attending a transition fair, which helps students plan for life after high school. PATHS is an initiative designed for students who aspire to support people with disabilities, work with school districts or become a child care professional. Davenport first dismissed the idea of joining the program but gave it another chance during her senior year of high school.

The experience taught her independence and self-advocacy skills her previous education had never addressed. “In high school, I would let people trample all over me,” Davenport said. “The program taught me not to do that because I have a voice myself, and so it taught me employment skills and more”.

Davenport was honored by Texas APSE, which supports employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

After completing PATHS in 2015, Davenport refused to stop there. She enrolled at Blinn College to complete her basics, then met with a Texas A&M advisor to map out exactly what she needed for admission. In 2018, Davenport achieved what her high school counselor said was impossible, she was accepted to Texas A&M as a full-time student. Two years later, she walked across the stage and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Leadership.

Davenport supported a bill to raise funding that benefits students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Today, Davenport is back with CDD, this time as a coordinator for Horticultural Options in Plant Sciences (HOPS), a one year post secondary program focused on horticulture. She teaches professionalism to students, emphasizing the life skills and self advocacy tools that proved essential in her own journey. The program currently has a 75 percent employment success rate, with graduates working in various fields.

Davenport’s advocacy extends beyond campus. She helped promote House Bill 2081 in the state legislature, which requested additional funding for post secondary programs serving students with intellectual and developmental disabilities across Texas. The bill, which was signed into law in late May, represents a significant step toward expanding access to programs like PATHS.

“I want to be a voice for the voiceless,” Davenport said. “That was my dream since I was little. If I can do it, you can do it.”

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