Rich and Janice Fialka-Feldman have established the Opening Doors Fund for InclusiveU as part of the Center on Disability and Inclusion’s Dream Big Campaign to provide critical financial support for students attending Syracuse University School of Education’s InclusiveU program, ensuring that students with intellectual disability can pursue their college dreams without financial barriers standing in their way.
The fund’s name carries deep personal significance. When their son, Micah Fialka-Feldman, entered his first-grade special education classroom, he noticed he had to enter through a different door than the rest of the grade. He came home with a simple but powerful request to his parents: “I want to go through the same door as my friends.” That moment when their child sought belonging has become the family’s guiding principle.
Genuine Understanding
With the support of his parents and many others, Micah grew up determined to pave his own path in life. That determination led him to become the first student in the country to win a lawsuit securing access to university housing, at Oakland University, a landmark victory that opened doors not just for himself but for students with disabilities across the nation. After graduation, his commitment to advocacy only deepened when he accepted a paid internship with Michigan Roundtable, a social justice organization working throughout the state.
It was during this internship that Micah was invited to speak at Syracuse University, where he shared his experiences, advocacy, and vision for disability inclusion. The connections he made during that visit were immediate and profound. He felt something different in the room; a genuine understanding that resonated with him.
Micah called his parents with certainty in his voice: “They get me here,” he said, referring to the Syracuse community’s warmth and embrace for exactly who he is. It was a moment that validated his journey and reinforced that he had found a place where he truly belonged.
What began as a peer trainer position as has grown into Micah’s current role as Outreach Coordinator for InclusiveU, as well as a co-teacher for Disability Studies classes, continuing to champion the same access and inclusion he once had to fight for.
Inspire and Motivate
The Opening Doors Fund will be administered at the discretion of the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education, with support going toward housing, meals, textbooks, and other essential expenses that help students to remain enrolled and to succeed in the program.
Micah is also the author of “Opening Doors“, published by Inclusion Press; the same organization that supported his parents’ efforts in learning about inclusion when he was born. Co-written with his friend and colleague, Lynn Albee, he tells his story of advocacy, disability pride, circles of support, and determination.
The Fialka-Feldmans emphasize that their support for inclusive higher education is more than just rhetoric. They have witnessed firsthand how life-changing it can be, not just for InclusiveU students, but for the University’s matriculated students, faculty, and staff, who learn alongside them. Their hope is that the Opening Doors Fund will help ensure no student has to leave the program due to financial need, and that their fund will both inspire and motivate others to take action toward making their own gift.
Learn more about the Dream Big Campaign and the Opening Doors Fund.
Visit Micah’s website at openingdoorsbymicah.com.