Tag: Kerry Magro

12 Autistic Students Receive College Scholarships; 162 Recipients in 12 Years

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(October 28, 2024) – Dr. Kerry Magro Ed.D., an autistic adult and Founder/President of KFM Making a Difference (a New Jersey-based nonprofit corporation), announced his organization’s award of college scholarships to twelve autistic adults, including:

Brooke Amelia Brockman (Elwood, NE), Olivette Copple (Dillon, MT), Alexander August Macdonald (Raleigh, NC), James Nemitoff (Hawthorne, NJ), Aren Wang (Union City, CA)

With this latest round of scholarship awards, Kerry Magro and KFM have now awarded one-hundred and sixty-two (162) scholarships to autistic students in the last 12 years.

Support our Nonprofit and our initiatives like our Autism Scholarship Program here.

This year KFM Making a Difference was able to give out twelve (12) scholarships for autistic students for college.

“As an autistic child who dealt with many obstacles, I’m honored to be able to give back to our community in this way. When I started this scholarship program, I never imagined we’d get to the point of giving 162 scholarships to autistic students for college. Over 50 young autistic adults applied.” says Dr. Kerry Magro Ed.D., founder and CEO of KFM Making a Difference. “I always wish we could give even more scholarships each year, which is why our nonprofit needs to continue to receive donations to support these students.”

The twelve scholarship winners were accepted into the following colleges…

Centenary University, Chabot College, Hastings College, SUNY Old Westbury, UNC Charlotte, University of Montana

In Fall 2012, KFM Making a Difference launched its scholarship program. Thus far, KFM has given out one-hundred and sixty-two (162) scholarships to help autistic students attend college. Kerry Magro, the founder of KFM, is a professional speaker, best-selling author, and movie consultant. Kerry was nonspeaking till 2.5 and was diagnosed with autism at age four.

Today, Kerry travels the country to share his story about autism and to support other autistic kids on their roads through life. Among the topics Kerry discusses are the power of communication, disabilities in the workplace, bullying prevention, the transition to adulthood for those with disabilities, how to succeed in school with a disability, and much more! Recently Kerry has spoken at over 1350 events over the past 13 years, including being one of the first people on the autism spectrum to ever give a ‘Talks at Google.’ He gives talks as part of student assemblies, educator staff development, and professional development, along with keynote and breakout sessions. While most of his speaking work is giving professional development talks with companies on neurodiversity and autism in the workplace, he still enjoys the opportunity to speak in the schools to educate students and educators.

Today, according to the Center for Disease Control, 1 in 36 children are diagnosed with autism, and 1 in 45 adults, while more than 700,000 young autistic children will reach adulthood within the next decade. A few years ago, U.S. News & World Report highlighted KFM Making a Difference as one of the only nonprofits to give out scholarships to autistic adults pursuing a post-secondary program in the U.S.

Their next 2025 scholarship application is now available you can apply for here.

You can make a tax-deductible donation here to help them continue to give out this scholarship https://kfmmakingadifference.org/donate/.

If you are interested in learning more about Kerry’s background or sending him a media/speaker inquiry, you can contact him anytime here. You can purchase a copy of Autistics on Autism here.

20 Autistic Students Receive College Scholarships; 150 Recipients in 11 Years

Posted on by kfmmakingadifference348

(December 21, 2023) – Dr. Kerry Magro Ed.D., an autistic adult and Founder/President of KFM Making a Difference (a New Jersey-based nonprofit corporation), announced his organization’s award of college scholarships to twenty autistic adults, including:

Aaron Rhodes (Booneville, AR), Addyson Soderquist (Lufkin, TX), Alexander Passoni-Torres (Broken Arrow, OK), Andrew O’Donnell (Morresville, NC), Christopher Lewis Lacey, WA), Connor Tang (Weston, FL), Emilia Keane (Downingtown, PA), Erika Ekblaw (Chesterton, IN), Fiona Garner (Dahlonega, GA), Jacob Cheatham (San Diego, CA), Jinn Janpathompong (Amherst, MA), Jordan Hernandez (Las Vegas, NV), Josef Marlow (Tallahassee, FL), Lola (Bo) Green (San Antonio, TX), Luke Friedel (St. Peters, MO), Maxwell Goodridge (Jacksonville, FL), Mckenna Chada (Indianola, IA), Noah Labrie (Manchester, NH), Veronica (Phoenix) Pederson (Davis, CA)

With this latest round of scholarship awards, Kerry Magro and KFM have now awarded one-hundred and fifty (150) scholarships to autistic students in the last 11 years.

Support our Nonprofit and our initiatives like our Autism Scholarship Program here.

This year KFM Making a Difference was able to give out twenty (20) scholarships for autistic students for college thanks in part to proceeds received from the nonprofit’s book Autistics on Autism: Stories You Need to Hear About What Helped Them While Growing Up and Pursuing Their Dreams which reached several Amazon best-seller lists in 2022. So with that, they could give twenty scholarships to some bright students on the autism spectrum. This was the most scholarships the nonprofit has ever announced in one year. Autistics on Autism was released on March 29, 2022, and featured the stories of 100 autistic adults, many of whom were previous KFM Making a Difference for Autism Scholarship Recipients.

“As an autistic child who dealt with many obstacles, I’m honored to be able to give back to our community in this way. When I started this scholarship program, I never imagined we’d get to the point of giving 150 scholarships to autistic students for college. Over 130 young autistic adults applied.” says Dr. Kerry Magro Ed.D., founder and CEO of KFM Making a Difference. “I always wish we could give even more scholarships each year, which is why our nonprofit needs to continue to receive donations to support these students.”

The twenty scholarship winners were accepted into the following colleges…

College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas Austin, College of Southern Nevada, CSN College Station CSU Sacramento, Flagler College, High Point University, Florida International University Iowa State University, Ivy Tech Community College, San Diego State University, Texas A&M University, University of North Florida Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), Reinhard University, University of Central Arkansas University of Central Florida, University of Delaware, University of Massachusetts Amherst and University of Tulsa

In Fall 2012, KFM Making a Difference launched its scholarship program. Thus far, KFM has given out one-hundred and fifty (150) scholarships to help autistic students attend college. Kerry Magro, the founder of KFM, is a professional speaker, best-selling author, and movie consultant. Kerry was nonspeaking till 2.5 and was diagnosed with autism at age four. Today, Kerry travels the country to share his story about autism and to support other autistic kids on their roads through life. Among the topics Kerry discusses are the power of communication, disabilities in the workplace, bullying prevention, the transition to adulthood for those with disabilities, how to succeed in school with a disability, and much more! Recently Kerry has spoken at over 1250 events over the past 12 years, including being one of the first people on the autism spectrum to ever give a ‘Talks at Google.’ He gives talks as part of student assemblies, educator staff development, and professional development, along with keynote and breakout sessions

Today, according to the Center for Disease Control, 1 in 36 children are diagnosed with autism, while more than 700,000 young autistic children will reach adulthood within the next decade. A few years ago, U.S. News & World Report highlighted KFM Making a Difference as one of the only nonprofits to give out scholarships to autistic adults pursuing a post-secondary program in the U.S.

Their next scholarship application will be available in 2024, which you can apply for now here. You can make a tax-deductible donation here to help them continue to give out this scholarship https://kfmmakingadifference.org/donate/. If you are interested in learning more about Kerry’s background or sending him a media/speaker inquiry, you can contact him anytime here. You can purchase a copy of Autistics on Autism here.

Kerry Magro’s Nonprofit Awards 9 Grants to Small Businesses That Hire People with Disabilities; 24 Recipients in 3 Years

Posted on by kfmmakingadifference348

(December 28, 2022) – Dr. Kerry Magro Ed.D., an adult with autism and Founder/President of KFM Making a Difference (a New Jersey based non-profit corporation), announced his organization’s grant to nine (9) small businesses that hire people with disabilities.

These businesses include: Spotlight Project (Smithtown, NY), New Avenue Foundation (Springfield, PA) Stephanie’s Shirt Shop (Elkhorn, WI), Lakeshore Learning Center (Fraser, MI), No Label at the Table (Carmel, IN), Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Desert (Yucca Valley, CA) Autism Employment Network (Pittsburgh, PA), and Max Cavie’s Guinea Pig Haven, Inc. (Auburn, IN)

With their wins, 24 businesses have received grants in the past 3 years.

 “During COVID-19 we knew many of our businesses were continuing to struggle and that made us want to turn this into an annual grant.” says Kerry Magro, founder and CEO of KFM Making a Difference. “We received some great feedback over time and decided to make this an annual grant to support our community.”

The grant was launched in September of 2020 on KFM Making A Difference’s website. All applicants were encouraged to discuss why it’s important to give people with a disability a chance to find meaningful employment. These small businesses combined have hired over 300 people with disabilities.

In Fall of 2012, KFM Making a Difference launched one if it’s first initiatives in its scholarship program. Thus far KFM has given out one-hundred and thirty (130) scholarships in total to help students with autism to go to college. Kerry Magro, founder of KFM, is a professional speaker, best-selling author and movie consultant. Kerry was nonspeaking till 2.5 and diagnosed with autism at age four. Today, Kerry travels the share his story about autism and to support other kids with autism on their roads through life.

Among the topics Kerry discusses is the power of communication, disabilities in the workplace, bullying prevention, the transition to adulthood for those with disabilities, how to succeed in school with a disability and much more! Recently Kerry just hit over 1150 in the past 11 years which included being one of the first people on the autism spectrum to ever give a ‘Talks at Google.’ Kerry talks regularly to businesses as part of lunch-and-learns and other types of special events about the ROI Benefits of Hiring People with Disabilities in the Workplace. In addition, Kerry has recently collaborated to become an affiliate partner to promote the products of The Chocolate Spectrum, an artisan chocolate company in Jupiter, Florida that was started by an autism mom to help find employment for individuals like her autistic son.

Their next small business grant will be available in 2023 which you can apply for now here. To help them continue to give out this grant you can make a tax-deductible donation here. If you are interested in learning more about Kerry’s background or sending him a media/speaker inquiry you can contact him anytime here.

30 Autistic Students Receive College Scholarships; 130 Recipients in 10 Years

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(July 7, 2022) – Dr. Kerry Magro Ed.D., an autistic adult and Founder/President of KFM Making a Difference (a New Jersey-based nonprofit corporation), announced his organization’s award of college scholarships to thirty autistic adults, including:

Alyssa Aey (Wadsworth, OH), Portia Bowman (Newburgh, IN), Brooke Brockman (Elwood, NE) Madison Brooks (Richmond, TX), Thomas Coxwell (Thomasville, AL), Amythyst Morris (Kingsport, TN), Abigail Farnsworth (Walker, WV), Avery Hannon (Burlington, NJ), Lennon Hare (Brockport, NY), Maxwell Hutchinson, Mariah Kay Sample (Madison, WI), Grant Manier (Fond du Lac, WI), Nadia Montiel (CA), Veronica Nunez, Riley Justice (Erie, CO), Jerron Higgins (St. Louis, MO) Elizabeth Ogorek (Indianapolis, IN), Aidan Reynolds (Harwinton, CT), Jacob Thorton (Wake Forest, NC), Brandon Walters (Wilmington, OH), Zander Feist (Hanover Township, PA), Francine Wooley and scholarship recipients to be named later.

With this latest round of scholarship awards, Kerry Magro and KFM have now awarded one-hundred and thirty (130) scholarships to autistic students in the last 10 years.

Support our Nonprofit and our initiatives like our Autism Scholarship Program here.

This year KFM Making a Difference was able to give out thirty (30) scholarships for autistic students for college thanks in part to proceeds received from the nonprofit’s book Autistics on Autism: Stories You Need to Hear About What Helped Them While Growing Up and Pursuing Their Dreams which reached several Amazon best-seller lists. So with that, they could give thirty scholarships to some bright students on the autism spectrum. This was the most scholarships the nonprofit has ever announced in one year. Autistics on Autism was released on March 29, 2022, and featured the stories of 100 autistic adults, many of whom were previous KFM Making a Difference for Autism Scholarship Recipients.

“As an autistic child who dealt with many obstacles, I’m honored to be able to give back to our community in this way. When I started this scholarship program, I never imagined we’d get to the point of giving 130 scholarships to autistic students for college. Over 90 young autistic adults applied.” says Dr. Kerry Magro Ed.D., founder and CEO of KFM Making a Difference. “I always wish we could give even more scholarships each year, which is why our nonprofit needs to continue to receive donations to support these students.”

The thirty scholarship winners were accepted into the following colleges…

Miami University of Ohio. Cornell College, University of St. Thomas; Houston Community College in Houston, Lone Star College. The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Bowling Green State University, East Tennessee State University, Ashland University, Florida Southwestern, Florida Polytechnic, Temple University, and Rochester Institute of Technology, Alabama State University (ASU), West Chester University of Pennsylvania, University of Denver, Edgewood College, California State University Northridge, Moraine Technical Park College, California Lutheran University, Austin Community College, Eastern Kentucky University, Indiana University, Purdue University Indianapolis, The University of Findlay, Barrett the Honors College at Arizona State University, Tunxis Community College, Central Connecticut State University, Muskegon Community College. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Wilmington College, Luzerne County Community College, Illinois State University, and Marist College.

In Fall 2012, KFM Making a Difference launched its scholarship program. Thus far, KFM has given out one-hundred and thirty (130) scholarships to help autistic students attend college. Kerry Magro, the founder of KFM, is a professional speaker, best-selling author, and movie consultant. Kerry was nonspeaking till 2.5 and was diagnosed with autism at age four. Today, Kerry travels the country to share his story about autism and to support other autistic kids on their roads through life. Among the topics Kerry discusses are the power of communication, disabilities in the workplace, bullying prevention, the transition to adulthood for those with disabilities, how to succeed in school with a disability, and much more! Recently Kerry has spoken at over 1150 events over the past 11 years, including being one of the first people on the autism spectrum to ever give a ‘Talks at Google.’ He gives talks as part of student assemblies, educator staff development, and professional development, along with keynote and breakout sessions

Today, according to the Center for Disease Control, 1 in 44 children are diagnosed with autism, while more than 700,000 young autistic children will reach adulthood within the next decade. A few years ago, U.S. News & World Report highlighted KFM Making a Difference as one of the only nonprofits to give out scholarships to autistic adults pursuing a post-secondary program in the U.S.

Their next scholarship application will be available in 2023, which you can apply for now here. You can make a tax-deductible donation here to help them continue to give out this scholarshiphttps://kfmmakingadifference.org/donate/. If you are interested in learning more about Kerry’s background or sending him a media/speaker inquiry, you can contact him anytime here. You can purchase a copy of Autistics on Autism here.

Kerry Magro’s Nonprofit Awards 9 Grants to Small Businesses That Hire People with Disabilities; 15 Recipients in 2 Years

Posted on by kfmmakingadifference348

(December 15, 2021) – Kerry Magro, an adult with autism and Founder/President of KFM Making a Difference (a New Jersey based non-profit corporation), announced his organization’s grant to nine (9) small businesses that hire people with disabilities. These businesses include:

Special Scoops II Inc. (Hastings, NE), Ability Star Designs (Omaha, NE), Cameron’s Coffee and Chocolates (Fairfax, VA), Eco Evie Apparel (West Allis, WI), Aspire CoffeeWorks (Hillside, IL), Good Reasons Dog Treats (North Salem, NY), Special Kneads and Treats Inc. (Loganville, GA), Roots Colorado dba Dirt Coffee Bar (Littleton, CO) and Ahmani’s Cookie Company.

With their wins, 15 businesses have received grants in the past 2 years.

 “Due to COVID-19 we knew many of our businesses were continuing to struggle and that made us want to turn this into an annual grant.” says Kerry Magro, founder and CEO of KFM Making a Difference.

The grant was launched in September of 2020 on KFM Making A Difference’s website. All applicants were encouraged to discuss why it’s important to give people with a disability a chance to find meaningful employment. These small businesses combined have hired over 300 people with disabilities.

In Fall of 2012, KFM Making a Difference launched one if it’s first initiatives in its scholarship program. Thus far KFM has given out 100 (100) scholarships in total to help students with autism to go to college. Kerry Magro, founder of KFM, is a professional speaker, best-selling author and movie consultant. Kerry was nonspeaking till 2.5 and diagnosed with autism at age four. Today, Kerry travels the share his story about autism and to support other kids with autism on their roads through life.

Among the topics Kerry discusses is the power of communication, disabilities in the workplace, bullying prevention, the transition to adulthood for those with disabilities, how to succeed in school with a disability and much more! Recently Kerry just hit over 1000 in the past 10 years which included being one of the first people on the autism spectrum to ever give a ‘Talks at Google.’ Kerry talks regularly to businesses as part of lunch-and-learns and other types of special events about the ROI Benefits of Hiring People with Disabilities in the Workplace. In addition, Kerry has recently collaborated to become an affiliate partner to promote the products of The Chocolate Spectrum, an artisan chocolate company in Jupiter, Florida that was started by an autism mom to help find employment for individuals like her autistic son.

Their next small business grant will be available in 2022 which you can apply for now here. To help them continue to give out this grant you can make a tax-deductible donation here. If you are interested in learning more about Kerry’s background or sending him a media/speaker inquiry you can contact him anytime here.

14 Students with Autism Receive College Scholarships; 100 Recipients in 9 Years

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(July 5, 2021) – Support our Nonprofit and our initatives like our Autism Scholarship Program here. Kerry Magro, an adult with autism and Founder/President of KFM Making a Difference (a New Jersey based non-profit corporation), announced his organization’s award of college scholarships to fourteen young adults with autism:

Addison Emily Grace Barnes (Owasso, OK) Christopher Mcardle (Columbus, OH) Alexander Diamond (Waukesha, WI) Brielle Taylor Williams (Parker, CO) Brooke Sylvia Njoki Bachia (Maplewood, NJ), Emily Mandy (Fayetteville, NC), Isaac Barlow (Colorado Sprigns, CO), Jared Taylor Keith Merrill Willkians (Kihei, HI), Kevin F Troy Jr (Franklin Square, NY), Luke Thomas Brassard (Montpelier, VT), Noah John Georges (Oak Hill, VA) Roberto Carlos Pluma (San Diego, CA), and Shaun Bernal (Jefferson City, MO).

With this latest round of scholarship awards, Kerry Magro and KFM have now awarded one-hundred (100) scholarships to students with autism in the last 9 years.

This semester gave KFM Making A Difference the most scholarship applications they’ve ever received. With that they gave fourteen (14) scholarships to some bright students on the autism spectrum.

“As an autistic child who dealt with many obstacles, I’m honored to be able to give back to our community in this way. When I started this scholarship program, I could never have imagined we’d get to the point of giving 100 scholarships for autistic students for college. Over 90 young autistic adults applied.” says Kerry Magro, founder, and CEO of KFM Making a Difference. “I always wish we could give even more scholarships out each year which is why our nonprofit needs to continue to receive donations to support these students.”

The scholarship winners have been accepted into and will be attending universities including The University of Oklahoma, University of Alabama, Brigham Young University, Rutgers University-Newark, Belhaven University, University of Hawaii, Manoa Adelphi University, University of New Haven, University of Southern California, George Mason University, San Diego State University Paul Mitchell the school Missouri Columbia and The University of Colorado at Boulder

In Fall of 2012, KFM Making a Difference launched its scholarship program. Thus far KFM has given out one-hundred (100) scholarships in total to help students with autism to go to college. Kerry Magro, founder of KFM, is a professional speaker, best-selling author and movie consultant. Kerry was nonverbal till 2.5 and diagnosed with autism at age four. Today, Kerry travels the share his story about autism and to support other kids with autism on their roads through life. Among the topics Kerry discusses is the power of communication, disabilities in the workplace, bullying prevention, the transition to adulthood for those with disabilities, how to succeed in school with a disability and much more! Recently Kerry just hit over 1000 in the past 10 years which included being one of the first people on the autism spectrum to ever give a ‘Talks at Google.’

Dr. Kerry Magro Ed.D giving a keynote at a luncheon in West Palm Beach, Florida

Today, according to the Center for Disease Control, 1 in 51 children are diagnosed with autism while more than 500,000 young individuals with autism will reach adulthood within the next decade. A few years ago U.S. News & World Report highlighted KFM Making a Difference as one of the only non-profits to give out scholarships to adults with autism in the U.S pursuing a post-secondary program.

Their next scholarship application will be available in 2022 which you can apply for now here. To help them continue to give out this scholarship you can make a tax-deductible donation here. If you are interested in learning more about Kerry’s background or sending him a media/speaker inquiry you can contact him anytime here.

11 Tips for Students With Autism Who Are Going to College

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This guest post is by Kerry Magro, CEO and Founder of KFM Making a Difference. 

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College can often be a difficult transition for those on the autism spectrum. When I was growing up on autism spectrum, getting into college was my first big dream. Now that I’ve graduated, I’m currently pursuing my doctoral degree.

I wanted to share 11 questions I frequently get asked by from students on the autism spectrum who are pursuing a post-secondary education.

1. As a college student affected by autism, what is one of the main things I need to know?

A big difference between college and high school is that in high school you generally have a structured plan for your accommodations called an individualized education program (IEP). However, in college that no longer exists, so you must advocate to your disability support group on campus to receive your own accommodations

2. What are some accommodations I can receive in my classes?

Individuals on the spectrum receive accommodations only if they register with their disability support group. They will then receive accommodations based on their needs. This can include extended time on tests, tape recorders for classes, individual note takers, etc.

3. Do I have to pay for accommodations?

Under The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, colleges are required to provide all learning disabled individuals with “reasonable accommodations.” However, you should check the guidelines inregards to what is and what is not available on your campus.

4. Will faculty or fellow students be informed that I am on the autism spectrum?

Faculty members are not allowed to disclose any information about a student to others without consent from the student. However, students must register as a “disabled student” to receive accommodations, meaning your disability support group would be aware you have a disability. It is then up to you to inform your instructors.

5. Is on-campus living for me?

Accommodations can also factor into your living arrangements on campus. For example, you may have an opportunity to have a single room if needed. Ask if your resident assistant will be made aware of your living situation, since he/she can be of help in an emergency.

6. Will tutoring be available for my courses?

Most colleges provide tutoring for all students, but it’s important to learn about those services early on to see if it is available and if you need additional support.

7. Are there any restrictions on how many courses I can take?

Some disability support groups require you take less courses in your first few semesters of college to make for an easier transition.

8. Is there a club on campus that raises awareness about autism and provides social opportunities for students affected by autism?

Autism Speaks’ college program, Autism Speaks U, works with students across the county to start chapters that raise awareness and funds. Some also establish mentoring programs for students and youth on the autism spectrum. To see if a chapter exists on your campus, visit www.AutismSpeaks.org/U.

9. Will my professors have any previous training in educating individuals affected by autism?

There is no requirement at most college for professors to have education in teaching
individuals with learning disabilities. You should be prepared to advocate for yourself when a situation deems itself appropriate to do so.

10. Will I be treated differently by fellow students because I have autism?

Like in any other situation where you are around people, there is the possibility of a lack of awareness on their part in dealing with people with learning disabilities. Therefore, spreading awareness is crucial for you and others affected by autism.

11. Is there anything on campus that focuses on post-college plans for individuals affected by autism?

Many colleges have a career program/center that focuses on helping you network with outside companies. You can also look under the Americans with Disabilities Act for information about job accommodations and workshops.

I wish all the incoming students with autism a wonderful college experience! Have fun, study hard and remember each day what you are working to achieve. That’s the key more than anything else to succeed and thrive in college.

In 2015, I contributed a chapter to a book called “College for Students with Disabilities: We Do Belong” that shares the experience of several individuals with disabilities who have successfully navigated a post-secondary education and graduated. You can learn more about the book here.

4 Students with Autism Receive College Scholarships; 34 Recipients in 5 Years

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Kerry Magro, an adult with autism and Founder/President of KFM Making a Difference (a New Jersey based non-profit corporation), announced his organization’s award of college scholarships to four young adults with autism; Benjamin N. Hays, Eleni Comstock, Eryn Lee and Margo McGeehan. With this latest round of scholarship awards, Kerry Magro and KFM have now awarded thirty-four (34) scholarships to students with autism in the last five years.

As many students with autism get ready for back-to-school, we celebrate their unique gifts through scholarships awarded by KFM Making a Difference, a non-profit organization that helps students with autism go to college. This year KFM is proud to award scholarships to Benjamin N. Hays (St. Lubbock, TX), Eleni Comstock (Pleasanton, CA), Eryn Lee (Jacksonville, AR) and Margo McGeehan (Douglassville, PA). These are KFM’s summer 2016 “Making a Difference for Autism Scholarship” winners!

“This was the first time we gave out summer scholarships to go along with our spring and fall Scholarship applications,” says Kerry Magro, founder and CEO of KFM Making a Difference. “Based on the donations received we were able to make this happen and give these students with autism support as they pursue a post-secondary education. We are excited to continue to follow their journeys as they continue to inspire our community…”

In fall of 2012, KFM Making a Difference launched its scholarship program. Thus far KFM has given out thirty-four (34) scholarships in total to help autistic adults to go to college. Kerry Magro, founder of KFM, is a producer of social media and digital content at Autism Speaks, a professionally certified motivational speaker, best-selling author, movie consultant and television talk show host. Kerry was diagnosed with autism at age four. Today, Kerry travels the country to share his story about autism and to support other autistic kids on their roads through life.

This year KFM asked each of the scholarship winners to share a message for students with autism who are currently hoping to attend a post-secondary program one day. This is what they had to say…

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“To other students with autism, work hard. Don’t be afraid to ask for help because most people are willing to help. Also, just because you have autism doesn’t mean you can’t succeed.” – Benjamin, majoring in Computer Science at West Texas A&M University, Class of spring 2020

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“To others, who are hoping to attend a post-secondary educational program one day, I will tell you this; it is possible. I know you might think that me saying “it is possible” just may be just about the lamest advice anyone has ever told you, but I urge you to not throw the advice away as a nothing. Just keep working hard, keep pushing through challenges, and try to remember me saying that “It Is Possible.” – Eleni, majoring in Industrial Engineering at Montana State University, Class of spring 2020

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“The road to achieving your dreams is never easy. You will encounter obstacles and difficulties along the way, and sometimes you will doubt yourself. However, if the path was easy, it would not truly be worth it. You have to challenge yourself; you have to face the difficulties. The arduous encounters, be it in regards to life or the path to achievement, are what make them worth it. In the end, you find yourself stronger than you ever were, and instead of thinking “I wish I could be that person”, you can finally say, “I am that person”. Much like a little bird, you have to fall before you fly; anything is possible, just believe that you can do it. As Albus Dumbledore says, “We must try not to sink beneath or anguish…but battle on.” – Eryn, majoring in Biology with a minor in Studio Art at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Class of spring 2018

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“For students with autism who want to eventually attend college, business school, or any type of post-secondary education, I want to tell them that despite what they may hear and may believe, they are more than capable of achieving any goals they set out for themselves. Even though society’s inherent able-centrism can make it difficult for disabled people to even receive the same rights as neuro-typical people, let alone the same opportunities, that doesn’t mean they aren’t able to make a difference in this world.” – Margo, majoring in Communication Studies at Kutztown University, Class of spring 2019

Today, according to the Center for Disease Control, 1 in 68 children will be diagnosed with autism while more than 500,000 young individuals with autism will reach adulthood within the next decade. A few years ago U.S. News & World Report highlighted KFM Making a Difference as one of the only non-profits to give out scholarships to adults with autism in the U.S pursuing a post-secondary program.

The deadline for our next scholarship in the “2016 Fall Making a Difference for Autism Scholarship” will be Monday, December 5th at Midnight U.S Eastern Standard Time. You can find the application here.

This scholarship fund is funded entirely through the generous donations of members in our community. You can help their scholarship program moving forward by making a tax-deductible donation here.