Project FOCUS supports students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in attending college at the University of Arizona.
Project FOCUS (Focusing Opportunities with Community and University Supports) is a two-year innovative transition program for young adults, age 18 to 22 years old with intellectual disabilities. We support access and inclusion to University of Arizona’s academic courses, campus internship experiences and college life events in order to increase each student’s independence, quality of life, and emp
04/02/2026
Meet Brady through this wonderful spotlight from Arizona@Work and AZ Dept. of Economic Security! Brady will be joining Project FOCUS in the fall and we’re thrilled to see what his college experience will have in store! 🐻⬇️🥳
02/26/2026
✨ Let's celebrate our Academic Highlight of the Week! ✨
Gianni, a second-year Project FOCUS student, has been giving his all in his Italian Renaissance class 🇮🇹
He's been volunteering, sharing amazing ideas, putting a creative spin on his assignments, and working hard with help from his peer mentor. We are so stoked to see all of Gianni's academic growth! He loves learning and connecting with his Italian heritage and we are SO here for it! 🙌 🫶
02/26/2026
🌟 We're thrilled to kick off our first Internship Highlight of the Week! 🌟
Join us in celebrating Marsalis, a second-year Project FOCUS student, for his fantastic contributions at his internship. He's been hard at work quickly swapping out the table-toppers around the student union, and boy has he become a pro at it! He barely needs any peer mentor support now!
This week, he covered the entire first floor of the student union and the Cactus Grill. Awesome job, Marsalis! We’re so proud to see you learning, growing, and shining with your skills!
02/23/2026
Weekend vibes: Project FOCUS students and peer mentors cheered on the UA GymCats at McKale Arena! Have you been to a gymnastics meet? They're absolutely worth checking out 🐾🤸♀️
FOCUS
02/20/2026
Happy Friday! 🎉 The weekend is right around the corner, and Project FOCUS students and peer mentors know how to keep the good times rolling. We love our fun weekend events—just check out those smiles from our last softball game! If you’re headed to the gymnastics meets this weekend, make sure to say hi to the Project FOCUS crew—they’ll be cheering for our Wildcats and enjoying every minute!
02/18/2026
Project FOCUS is redefining inclusion and access for our students. Our three pillars empower every PF cohort to make the most of their college experience.
Just look at a day in the life of our remarkable students:
🫶 Lily excelling at her internship with the Andrew Weil Center for Integrated Medicine
🎨 Gianni proudly showcasing his Italian Renaissance poster
🚗 Izzy and Olivia making memories at Old Main
What might seem ordinary for some is so much more for individuals with disabilities that are often left on the sidelines. Each day, our peer mentors, students, and staff show up to lead the way in making this the new norm for everyone!
💪🍜 Gianni's U of A Love Letter 💙❤️
Gianni keeps it simple: the rec center is elite, the food near campus slaps, and the shopping isn't bad either. Man of few words, but he knows quality when he sees it. 🌵😎
You'll find him getting his workout in, grabbing something good to eat, or checking out the spots around campus. 🐾💕
Sometimes the best love letters are short and sweet. ✨
🏢🍕 Bruce's U of A Love Letter 💙❤️
Bruce knows what's up: the University of Arizona has EXCELLENT buildings and even better food. His peer mentors are basically his personal tour guides to all the best spots on (and near) campus. 🌵😄
From exploring new restaurants to checking out cool buildings he didn't even know existed, Bruce is living his best campus life. Who knew college could involve this much delicious research? 🍔🐾
🏈📚 PF Student Lily's U of A Love Letter 💙❤️
Lily's schedule is PACKED—classes, internship, sporting events, repeat—and she wouldn't have it any other way. She's out here living the full college experience and loving every chaotic, beautiful minute of it. 🐾✨
Game days? She's there. Class? She's crushing it. Internship? Handling business. This semester she's graduating and honestly, she's going to miss this place SO much. 💕🎓
Busy Wildcat = Happy Wildcat. That's just the vibe. 🌵
💙 Peer Mentor Lily's Love Letter to U of A ❤️📚
Lily didn't expect to fall THIS hard for Project FOCUS, but here we are. The people, the professors, the classes... all of it one heck of a good time! 💕
Being a peer mentor means she gets a front-row seat to watching students thrive, and honestly? That's the kind of content that makes her heart happy. Every class, every connection, every "aha!" moment reminds her why she loves being a Wildcat. 🐾✨
📷💙 Amanda's U of A Love Letter ❤️
✨Amanda's favorite part of being a Wildcat? Getting to take beautiful campus walks and meet cool people. Honestly, not a bad gig. 🌵😊
From the flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert to the many fun conversations that happen between classes, she's living her best life, one stroll across campus at a time. Every day brings new faces, new stories, and honestly? The views don't hurt either!
📷✨ : Ali's U of A Love Letter 💙❤️
Let's embrace a little millennial cringe, shall we?
Behold: the receipts from Ali's early 2000s era at the University of Arizona. Digital camera quality? Chef's kiss. Fashion choices? We don't talk about those. 🙈
Back then she was just trying to survive group projects, find parking, and figure out how to print that essay that was due... Fast forward through an M.Ed. and 12+ years later, boom, she's BACK on campus!
Plot twist: The campus got fancier, but Ali's penchant for coffee from Luce has stayed exactly the same. ☕😅
From baby Wildcat to full-on UofA lifer. Some love stories just hit different. 🐾💕