When Cecelia Reyes earns a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University in August, she knows she faces an uphill battle finding a job in today’s economic downturn. But having lived with multiple sclerosis since age 20, her challenge is even more daunting.

And that is why Reyes will continue on to graduate school to make herself a stronger job candidate for prospective employers.

“I feel I have to strive for higher degrees to make up for my illness,” said Reyes, 25, of Chicago’s Garfield Ridge neighborhood. “I feel like this will give me an edge.”

DePaul’s Chronic Illness Initiative will explore the challenges that students with chronic illnesses face in the workplace at the fifth annual chronic illness and postsecondary education symposium from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 28 at the DePaul University Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave., third floor, Chicago. Open to the public, admission is $25 and includes lunch and a reception. For complete program details, visit http://snl.depaul.edu/StudentResources/Chronic_Illness/index.asp.

Titled “After Graduation: Creating Opportunities for Employment, Education, and Community and Family Involvement,” the daylong symposium includes workshops and speakers covering a number of topics, among them empowering students with chronic illness to make good choices about their future, improving the skills of those who advise students with chronic illnesses, and educating employers about reasonable accommodations for workers with chronic illnesses. Highlights of the symposium include:

● At noon, keynote speaker Karen McCulloh, executive director of disabilityworks at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce (www.disabilityworks.org) and disability rights activist, will share her perspective on how the disabled can reject negative scripts written by others and how they can move forward with their lives and careers as persons with chronic illness and other disabilities. She has served at the national level on the National Job Corps Advisory Committee and as co-founder and president of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities. She recently participated in President Barack Obama’s transition team in Washington, D.C.

● “Illness Induced Trauma: Types and Effects on Employability and Workplace Accommodation,” 3:50 p.m. Patricia Fennell, president of Albany Health Management Associates Inc., will describe types of psychological, cultural and physical traumas resulting from the chronic illness experience, as well as the application of the Fennell Four-Phase Model in assessment and intervention of chronic illness-induced trauma. Fennell also will offer suggestions for how employers and job seekers can use this understanding to improve working conditions and employability of people with chronic illness.

● “Access, Accommodations and Advocacy: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the Workplace,” 9 a.m. Marla Morgen, associate general counsel at DePaul University, and Jeff Rabin, managing attorney at Jeffrey A. Rabin & Associates Ltd. will discuss what types of chronic illnesses may allow for access to ADA protections, the various types of reasonable accommodations available for individuals with chronic illnesses in the workplace and the process for obtaining reasonable accommodations from an employer. 

● “We’ve Been There: Sharing Stories and Experiences about Holding a Job while Managing a Chronic Illness,” 2:50 p.m. Featuring lawyer Gabe Minc, artist/musician Matt Morgen, pharmacology graduate student Brian Smith and Paula Kravitz, assistant director/advisor of the Chronic Illness Initiative. The panel will explore the unique challenges that individuals with chronic illnesses face as they work toward financial independence and community participation/inclusion.

A three-year DePaul University study commissioned by disabilityworks found that workers with disabilities performed as well as other workers while requiring about the same amount of supervision and minimal accommodations.

The only program of its kind in the United States, the School for New Learning’s Chronic Illness Initiative provides students with the assistance they need to manage school while struggling with debilitating illnesses, relapses and hospitalizations. Now in its fifth year, the program has grown to serve more than 200 students.

For more information about the symposium, call (312) 362-5077, e-mail anihls@depaul.edu or visit http://snl.depaul.edu/StudentResources/Chronic_Illness/index.asp.