Arlene Basant is a student at John Jay College, majoring in Computer Science. She serves as the Executive Vice Chair for the CUNY Coalition for Students with Disabilities (CCSD), the university-wide group that represents nearly 10,000 students with disabilities. She is also currently a staff member for the Universal Design, Learning and Leadership Project at Hostos Community College. Prior to this, Arlene participated in the CUNY Recovery Corps during the Summer of 2021 as a Digital Accessibility/Student Affairs Specialist at the CUNY Central Office of Student Affairs, where she was trained to utilize technology to ensure ADA accessibility. She is a firm believer of the famous Nelson Mandela's quote, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”