CUIMC Celebrates National Disability Employment Awareness Month

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, celebrating the value and talent that workers with disabilities add to America’s workplaces and economy. Columbia University Irving Medical Center is dedicated to supporting employees with disabilities and inclusive hiring practices. Our commitment includes the groundbreaking Project PossABILITY initiative, which since 2020 has created 14 jobs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at CUIMC.

This month, we spoke with employees at Columbia who identify as people with disabilities, including some hired through Project PossABILITY, about their experiences navigating their workplace.

Marlon Curbelo*

Departmental Support Analyst, Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health

As a departmental support analyst, Marlon Curbelo helps with scanning and editing documents, as well as maintaining a digital database of files that his colleagues in the Department of Population and Family Health at the Mailman School of Public Health can easily access.

Curbelo’s colleagues, he says, make him feel welcome to be himself at work.

“This opportunity gave me the platform to be myself with my employer, which made it an easy transition for me,” Curbelo says. “My colleagues and advisers give me the security that they’re here to help me, guide me, and give me what I need so that I can be successful. They’re not shy about giving me hard work, and they treat me as a normal employee.”

For Curbelo, the possibilities of what he can achieve are endless.

“When you apply the same work ethic, the same skillset, the same focus, and keep that focus in whatever you’re doing in life, the sky’s the limit for you,” Curbelo says. “Grab something that you’re passionate about and really want to do, then keep going and never look back.”

Benjamin Boudreaux

Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Medicine at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Benjamin Boudreaux is a postdoctoral research scientist working in the behavioral medicine lab of Keith Diaz, where he studies how daily levels of physical activity, sedentary activity (like sitting or lying down), and sleep affect cardiovascular disease.

“I have a unique perspective from living with a disability,” says Boudreaux, who has a PhD in exercise physiology. “I’ve struggled with social difficulties. People say, ‘How is someone with autism working in the field of behavioral science?’” For Boudreaux, the analysis and modeling of people’s behaviors is engaging, because “you learn more about a person instead of just looking at one piece of their behavior.”

Boudreaux was diagnosed in 2020 with type 1 diabetes, but that did not deter him from his dream of running in last year’s New York Marathon. “A bunch of my colleagues and my adviser and coordinators all came out to cheer me on,” he says. “I have a great support system even outside the work environment.”

Boudreaux was not hired through Project PossABILITY, but his adviser Keith Diaz is the founder of the program.

“I value that they’re taking that initiative,” Boudreaux says. “Hopefully other institutions follow suit with this important mission.”

Clarisa Rosa*

Heavy Cleaner, Facilities Management

Clarisa Rosa, a heavy cleaner working in Facilities Management at CUIMC, originally didn’t think she would get a job at Columbia. “I was putting myself down, but people told me I could do it,” she says.

“My favorite thing about working here is that people recognize my work, tell me I’m doing a good job, and I get recognized,” Rosa says. “People with disabilities are like everybody else, and we can do the work like everybody else can do. I’ve been working here five months, and I think I’m doing a good job.”

Rosa credits her colleagues with encouraging her during her time at Columbia.

“People are friendly here and help me with my confidence,” she says. “They help advise you on how to make your work better.”

Jacob Waltuck*

Comparative Medicine Assistant, Institute for Comparative Medicine

In the Institute for Comparative Medicine, Jacob Waltuck works as an assistant, enjoying the hands-on work of taking care of lab mice and keeping their spaces and water bottles clean. “Working at this place is taking a big step forward, and my family is very proud,” Waltuck says. “This job helps me manage things in a less stressful way, and I don’t have to sit in front of a screen all day.”

Waltuck hopes to inspire others with autism to achieve their goals and make a difference with their work.

“Being a person with autism, and doing what seems to be a very challenging job like this, can drive other people to understand that they too can take on very big tasks," Waltuck says. "When you do something small, like taking care of these lab mice, you’re making a big difference. Not only do I want to keep helping these lab mice, but I also want to help doctors and nurses take care of and examine patients with autism in a humane and gentle way.”