A junior from Brooklyn, NY, Keara Donahue is the co-leader of Colgate Buddies, a campus organization focused on working with those with developmental disabilities.

Donahue initially became involved in the club because of her past experience with similar programs.

“My mom is a special education teacher and in high school, I volunteered at a summer program where she worked,” Donahue said. “When I came here, I went to the activities fair and I saw this club. I’d always done it so I was like ‘Oh, okay, this is something I want to be involved in.’”

Colgate Buddies hosts their own events on campus to connect with people with developmental disabilities and also works with two local organizations, Pathfinder Village and Heritage Farm. Students from Colgate Buddies work one-on-one with mentally handicapped adults and young adults in the area, who otherwise have little to no access to advanced educational resources.

In addition to the events the club organizes on campus, Donahue and the club members also take part in events hosted by Pathfinder Village.

“We’ve done baking events and painting events. We’ve been to the vis-lab. We’ve done kickball, just like any kind of fun activity to just get to know them and form a friendship,” Donahue said. “Our club is growing, but it’s still pretty small, and I feel like you really get a chance to know people on a one-on-one basis.”

Donahue became co-leader of the club her sophomore year and hopes Colgate Buddies can spread more awareness about people with developmental disabilities on campus by taking part in events such as Spread the Word to End the Word, a nation-wide campaign in March.

A political science and environmental studies double major, Donahue sees her involvement in Colgate Buddies possibly playing a role in her plans for the future.

“I don’t know exactly what I want to do, but I definitely want to go into humanitarian efforts and maybe human rights law or something like that, so that would involve making sure that the rights of people with disabilities are protected,” Donahue said.