Honors student Madilyn Hufford organized the Audibear project to increase accessibility by recording audio versions of the college’s Core I and Core II texts.

“Audibear is a program that I plan to have worked on my entire four years here, and also one that I plan will keep going when I’m gone. This will most likely include having a dedicated office and established volunteers to accommodate curriculum changes,” Hufford said. “The honors cores are ever-evolving, and we will most likely expand beyond them, so my goal is to have this infrastructure established so that we can continue being as accessible as possible.”

Volunteers pick a reading and find a quiet space to record at their convenience. Hufford also plans to find someone willing to edit the audio and compile a blooper reel. The plan is to edit and distribute recordings through the Honors Portal. 

Schedler Honors College President and Audibear volunteer Hannah Malone said, “Even with longer pieces, we’re often able to complete a couple recordings in one sitting. These recordings are saved to become readily available for anyone who wants an audio option.”

The project was inspired during Hufford’s freshman year after she had trouble with the Core I reading material. 

“Due to my ADHD, I found it hard to keep myself entirely devoted to lengthy pieces — I believe the reading that sparked the idea was the ‘Confessions of Saint Augustine.’ I remembered that when I was struggling to read our summer book. I had gotten the physical copy and the audiobook, and read and listened at the same time to great success,” Hufford said. 

Hufford felt more engaged with the audio version of the text. 

“My main goal is to have these recordings for anyone that needs them — they’re useful for people who are visually challenged, neurodivergent, get migraines from looking at a screen too long or for whatever reason can’t devote themselves to sitting and reading a long piece,” Hufford said. 

Currently, only Schedler Honors students are volunteering with the project. Hufford has plans to expand the project to the Scholars program eventually, having those students make those recordings. 

The Audibear project has 27 volunteers who have been recruited through GroupMe, weekly email announcements and word-of-mouth. 

Malone said, “When asked to volunteer, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. As a person of color, I chose to read two speakers of color that I really admire and respect with the hope that my delivery could give that experience to others.” 

The project volunteers have recorded over 30 readings with more on the way.

Malone said, “If someone learns better audibly, or is visually impaired, it’s important to us to make sure everyone can access the material. The shared readings connect students to not only their cohort but generations of honors alumni as well. Recording the Core I and II readings is an important inclusivity mission.”

Hufford is a film and creative writing double major with a minor in interdisciplinary studies. Despite being recently diagnosed with a chronic illness, Hufford said she knew not to fear any bumps in the road as she has found countless support for the project.