Gene's Story: Barrier Free Environments

Eugene Lozano, Jr.
Disability Management Counselor/Access Specialist
Services to Students with Disabilities

One proud accomplishment: Due to Gene’s advocacy, the County Department of Transportation created a permanent line item in their budget to set aside funds for accessibility projects, including installing curb ramps and accessible pedestrian signals on the county roads.

Campus Guide Strip System: In response to student complaints about getting lost on campus, Gene worked with an Orientation Mobility Specialist and used the guide strip design he developed for the county roads to create the yellow guide strip system seen on Sac State walkways. Gene said, “The students still tell me they like having them, that they would like to get more in other places on campus.”

In my spare time: “I like to work in the garden. One of the most therapeutic things for me is taking the soil, which is almost pure clay, and working it with the compost and after a few years, actually getting some rich soil. In the past, I’ve also enjoyed hiking in the Sierras. It was like another world.”

One thing that surprises people: “When I tell people that I’ve never been paid for any of these things [community advocacy work], no compensation, no royalties, no patents, they can’t believe that somebody would do all that work just purely out of passion, just for the satisfaction of seeing something implemented.”

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