As new students arrive on campus for PREP move-in, PREP Leaders and Joey the therapy dog welcome them to Saint Mary’s. / Photo by Heidi Tend
The PREP Program Celebrates Ten Years of Making A Move-in More Accessible
Offering quieter move-in assistance and specialized programming, PREP has sought to make Saint Mary’s a welcoming place for first-year and transfer students with disabilities.
As the 2025–26 academic year gets underway, the PREP program at Saint Mary’s is celebrating a major milestone: ten years of providing a supportive, accessible welcome to campus for incoming students with disabilities. For over a decade, PREP—which stands for Providing Resources for Educational Progress—has offered first-year and transfer students a softer entry into Saint Mary’s, with a mellower early move-in and specialized programming, aiming to make students feel more at home.
“There's no loud music or pompoms,” says Julie Scaff, who serves as Assistant Vice Provost of Student Support Services and oversees the two-day program. “It’s just a quiet, supportive move-in that gives them the chance to get settled into their dorm room.”
“Creating a campus experience that welcomes all students and accounts for their needs starts with each individual on campus.”
—Julie Scaff, Director, Student Disability Services
After getting situated, students and their families attend a welcome lunch, where they hear from a panel of student leaders about their experience at Saint Mary’s. It’s an opportunity for the incoming Gaels to “hear from students who talk very frankly about whatever difficulties or challenges they have overcome, before and during college,” says Scaff. “It also paints a picture of success.”
As the day continues, parents attend a breakout session titled “New Beginnings: Helping Your Student Thrive at SMC,” while students head outside to get to know the campus and each other. Program highlights include a campus tour, a session on using the Student Disabilities Services database, and informational sessions on roommates and campus life.
The purpose of PREP, ultimately, is to ensure students feel comfortable and confident at Saint Mary’s, says Scaff, who also serves Director, Student Disability Services. “We want them to know where to go on the first day of school, how to use their accommodations, and what their resources are.”
Origins and Evolution
From the outset, PREP has been offered to students entirely free of charge. That is thanks to the generosity of Wei Wang, whose son attended Saint Mary’s just over a decade ago. After he graduated, Wang felt there was an opportunity to expand the move-in process for students with disabilities and special needs. In 2014, Wang approached Student Disabilities Services with the idea for PREP. The rest is history.
Through a gift each year, Wang has funded the program since its inception. During that time, PREP has evolved to better meet the needs of students. Physical events like the hike to the cross in the hills above campus have been reduced within the program to make it more inclusive for students with physical disabilities. And as more students who identify as neurodiverse or as being on the autism spectrum, more changes have been made to better accommodate them.
The program has grown rapidly in recent years, with 2025 welcoming the most participants yet. As Scaff looks toward the future of PREP, she is hopeful for more sources of funding to meet that increased interest. Of course, she notes, the work doesn’t end with PREP. “Creating a campus experience that welcomes all students and accounts for their needs starts with each individual on campus,” she says. “Everyone should ask themselves, ‘How can we make Saint Mary's the most welcoming community it can be?’”
One Gael who has taken that question to heart is Kayla Redman ’26, a Communications major entering her final year at SMC. Redman participated in the PREP program when she moved in as a first-year student and has served as a PREP leader during the three years since. She credits PREP for her smooth transition. “The tips and tricks that PREP provided helped me feel confident going into the beginning of college,” she says.
For Redman, being a PREP leader is a full-circle moment. “Coming to college can be really scary,” she acknowledges. “So, for me, it’s really rewarding to make it more welcoming for incoming students like me.”
Maddy Hunter ’27 is a student writer in the Office of Marketing & Communications. Write her.
