UWF Trident

January 16, 2017

In the Spring of 2017 Trident Club got a logo, Bylaws, and a new name UWF Trident. The student organization was registered at the University of West Florida in the Fall of that same year and soon flyers and advertisements were placed around campus to get students involved. The organization started with roughly five active members and at it’s height blossomed to over fifty members half of which were officers actively working daily to enact change. UWF Trident had its challenges because it was the first student organization on campus for people with disabilities which not only meant they had to work hard to educate the campus and community but also that they were leading an initiative that was unique. Despite the uncharted future ahead UWF Trident left lasting impressions for those who were involved with it and successfully brought disability awareness to the forefront of the Pensacola Community with the impact of the work so many advocated for, still being felt today.

UWF Trident Community

January 2017 – May 2019

Trident Club, UWF Trident, and even Trident Disabilities Inc. today would have achieved nothing without an active and supportive community behind it. People with and without disabilities worked together, learned together, and advocated together. Many of the people who impacted what Trident has become have since left the organization, but even in their departure we see them impacting communities with disability in mind. Our founder recalls “Once a student told me they felt like they didn’t fit in anywhere else and that Trident finally made them feel apart of something. I think those sentiments define my gratitude I have to many who stuck with me when things were rough and I was learning to be a better advocate and leader. I think gratitude alone can’t be enough thanks, to the community and so hopefully the change Trident has brought and will bring shows them why their efforts were so important.” Our story started with people who wanted to make an impact and the more Trident achieves the more, that remains true.

So Why Trident?

Over the years Trident Disabilities has changed with new logos, missions, and advocates but the word Trident remains unchanged. During the period where UWF Trident was a student organization Trident was made into an acronym, To Reach Individuals with Disabilities and Encourage New Triumphs. On the website from that period the student organization realized the power the Trident as a symbol held for many cultures, religions, and identities and so they wanted to emphasize that Trident for people with disabilities meant powerful imagery and empowerment together they could use for change. The slogan Disability Diversity Drive was created from the three points on the Trident and how these three things together could overcome all that stood as a barrier for people with disabilities. Despite these many attempts over the years to try and define Trident in relation to disability our founder sheds light on the name’s origin. He stated “I don’t remember why I picked Trident as the name all of those years ago. I think I wanted to create an image of people with disabilities that directly conflicted with how we were seen in the world. I also remembered I didn’t want to have a name I had seen for so many social organizations that usually ended up with an acronym. I wanted a name that was unique but also fun because I didn’t want to approach change the same way. I think you could swap out the Trident or the person holding it with any combination of people and accessibility devices and you would still feel just how powerful and impactful they are. I think the important takeaway of our name is that it can easily be called something else and it doesn’t change what we are doing here. Names of organizations don’t make the impact that people within them do and although I am not sure what inspired the name originally I like to think that my sixteen year old self understood that, name or not, people with disabilities were going to make a change.”