By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
On May 2, more than 70 cars and a fire truck paraded down Chenango Street in Cazenovia to celebrate Harry Dydo’s graduation from Syracuse University’s InclusiveU program.
Dydo, who was born with Down syndrome, is beloved throughout his hometown and beyond for his big personality and exuberant spirit.
A lifelong Orange fan, Dydo had dreamed of attending Syracuse University for years.
Thanks to InclusiveU, his dream became a reality.
Housed in SU’s Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education, InclusiveU is an initiative that offers students with intellectual disabilities a comprehensive college experience, including individualized coursework, person-centered planning, professional internships, and social and extracurricular activities.
Dydo’s father, Matt, who owns Matthews Salon Spa, learned about the program from one of his clients.
“We heard about it when Harry was really young, around three or five” said Colette Powers, Dydo’s mom. “Bud Buckhout, the director of InclusiveU, and I often chuckle because I called him when Harry was in eighth grade and said, ‘All right, put him on the list’ . . . When he was in high school, we [worked with] his special ed teacher, who at the time was Guy Linton, to apply . . . Then he got accepted and it was the fastest and most amazing four years ever.”
Dydo started off in the program as a day student. According to Matt, the adjustment was initially challenging.
“We were nervous,” Matt said. “Any transition with Harry, from the Jowonio School to kindergarten or from middle school to high school, is very difficult. For parents with special needs kids, it’s hard when you have them safe in an organization or a system where you know the people and have some oversight, and then all of the sudden you jump into something new and it’s all different. SU was even more [of a leap] because it was huge.”
Dydo’s experience at SU was transformed when he started working for the Men’s Basketball team as a student manager.
With his unrivaled school spirit and positive energy, Dydo became fast friends with many of the players.
According to Matt, that opportunity came about as a result of a conversation he had with Juli Boeheim, wife of Coach Jim Boeheim, at Wegmans.
Matt had been acquainted with Boeheim for a number of years because he used to cut her sons’ hair. Tim Mascari, one of Dydo’s high school special ed teachers, was also connected to the Boeheim family.
During their grocery store conversation, Matt informed Boeheim that his son was attending SU and would love to get involved with the basketball team in some way.
Soon after the meeting, Boeheim sent Matt a text about the team manager position.
“That was it,” Colette said. “We got to go meet Kip Wellman, the operations manager, and Coach Boeheim and they welcomed Harry onto the team. Being a part of that community helped him grow so much — everything from his confidence and organization to working out. He’s in better shape than all of us now.”
During his junior year, Dydo started living on campus.
“He needed a roommate who would be a residential mentor, and they are very hard to come by,” said Colette. “At that point in time, with it being only the second year of the residential program, there were no male students applying to be residential mentors. They were getting a ton of applications from girls, but no boys . . . Out of the blue, late in the game, we got a text from Bud Buckhout saying they found someone who they thought was great. Thank God. His name is Daniel McMurray and he’s a great guy, very studious.”
While living on campus, Dydo bonded with his peers by participating in group activities and outings like shopping, bowling and karaoke organized through the InclusiveU Peer-2-Peer program.
At the start of his senior year, he moved into a single dorm room located just downstairs from his best college friends, Chloe, Olivia and Meghan — who are also InclusiveU students.
Another hallmark moment of senior year, according to Dydo’s parents, was the first time he walked across campus unsupervised.
“His junior year, I made it clear to the support staff that he could not walk that campus alone; safety is the biggest concern for parents with special needs kids” said Colette. “ . . . The Wednesday after we dropped him off his senior year, he called me and asked to [walk to Huntington Hall] by himself . . . He said, ‘Mom, I’m ready now’ . . . He asked, [I] said OK and then he affirmed — he let me know ‘I’m good.’ Off he went and that was it.”
According to Matt, the most valuable aspects of the InclusiveU program are the sense of camaraderie and friendship felt by the students and the sense of security given to the parents.
“The mentors and Beth Myers, [executive director of the Taishoff Center], make you feel safe,” he said. “That’s how Harry grew. He grew socially, he matured, his speech got better, and he was truly included. He was part of that campus, he never saw himself as being any different and he enjoyed himself. I can’t stress enough how much it molded him into a confident young man. He’s not scared of stuff; he just takes it on . . . He’s living like a typical kid. It’s up to us as parents to let that happen, and that’s really scary. Colette and I are always working through that, but we have to. You can’t hold these kids back. You just have to let them do it, no matter how hard that is.”
Throughout his senior year, Dydo participated in two on-campus internships designed to provide students with marketable and transferable job skills.
His first internship was at the Barnes Center at The Arch — a recently opened health-and-wellness facility — and his second semester was spent at the Manley Field House.
In October 2019, Dydo was selected to represent InclusiveU and the SU School of Education for a national marketing campaign about being yourself at Syracuse.
“He was invited to fly, all expenses paid, to the University of Central Florida to speak at a conference in June,” Matt said. “They are still going to do it, but it’s going to be virtual.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dydo’s final year on campus was cut short.
Although he was unable to graduate alongside his classmates on the SU campus, the Cazenovia community was eager to acknowledge his accomplishments.
“I reached out to a few people [about doing a drive-by] for Harry and asked them to spread the word,” said Colette. “And then all of the sudden I got this feeling, and I said to Matt, ‘I could be wrong, but I think this is going to be pretty big.’”
The turnout for the neighborhood parade exceeded all expectations.
“I love my life,” Dydo said in response to the recognition.
According to Matt and Colette, the community has embraced their son from the very start. In high school, his peers invited him to dances and voted him prom king; his varsity soccer coach put him on the field during a game; and his entire graduating class stood and cheered when his name was announced at commencement.
“He wouldn’t be who he is without Cazenovia,” said Matt. “It takes a village. He was part of everything, and that doesn’t happen in a huge district . . . We were walking down Albany Street the other day and three cars yelled out ‘Hey, Harry!’ That’s great for us as parents because it makes us feel good, but more importantly, that makes him feel included and loved. If he’s working at Tops, we will get text messages throughout the day saying, ‘We just saw Harry, and I just want you to know he makes my day.’ He’s a blessed soul. He was sent here to help others, and if we can help out with that, that’s what Colette and I try to do.”
Dydo’s parents hope that their son’s story can help encourage other parents of special needs kids.
“When people see Harry on the news or engage with him, they often say, ‘He is high functioning,’” Matt said. “I just have to say that he wasn’t always that way. His reading level is probably third or fourth grade. He wore diapers until age ten. He had to learn sign language at a young age . . . The one thing I want to stress to special needs parents is that in those formative, early years, it is so challenging and so scary . . . I want people to know that it takes a lot of work. When he was in fourth grade, his occupational therapist said he’d never be able to do a zipper. I just want to tell other parents to never stop pushing forward, because there were plenty of times we were discouraged and scared and in tears . . . Put your fears aside, get educated, and don’t hold them back because you are afraid.”
For more information on InclusiveU, visit taishoffcenter.syr.edu/inclusiveu.
