Brighid Kohl knows firsthand how isolating being bullied can feel. Living with autism and a stutter, Kohl experienced it while growing up in San Jose.
“Of course, during middle school and a little bit of high school, I was bullied,” Kohl said. “I was bullied a lot.”
Determined to ensure her college peers at the College of Adaptive Arts (CAA) didn’t have the same experience, Kohl started a program. Drawing inspiration from a Canadian YouTuber’s anti-bullying campaign called “You Are Not Alone” (YANA), Kohl wanted a similar program for her school.
“I wanted to make sure the students here didn’t go through what I did,” Kohl said. “It’s kind of like an anti-bullying class.”
To turn her idea into reality, Kohl taught herself how to use PowerPoint and created a presentation to pitch the program to CAA administrators.
Not only did the administration approve the YANA class, but they also …