user avatar
Jay Handlin
@jayhandlin
Consigliere, romancier, maven. Fierce father. Disability/inclusion zealot, balletomane. T21, Disney, Aerosmith. NY-CA-HI-NY-complex. Repped by @WorldBuilderEnt.
Joined June 2009
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  • user avatar
    Jay Handlin
    @jayhandlin
    May 16, 2020
    This is my daughter, Rachel Handlin. Tonight, she earned her full Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Photography & Media from the prestigious California Institute of the Arts, @CalArts⁩. Rachel has #Downsyndrome. I am officially the proudest father on the planet. Fight me.
  • user avatar
    Jay Handlin
    @jayhandlin
    May 15, 2024
    For the first time, this is what a Master’s degree looks like. Today, my daughter #RachelHandlin became the 1st person with #Downsyndrome to earn a graduate degree. In the world. Ever. Rachel says: “I won’t be the last.” @CalArts BFA 2020. @PrattInstitute MFA 2024. Legend.
    4.1M
  • user avatar
    Jay Handlin
    @jayhandlin
    May 17, 2020
    Replying to @bentman013 @secupp and @CalArts
    Thank you very much. No fighting necessary :). Your daughter is beautiful. I wish her, and you, and all of the team advocating on her behalf strength and success! It’s a long road, but it’s definitely worth it.
  • user avatar
    Jay Handlin
    @jayhandlin
    May 17, 2024
    Replying to @MediumConsumer @CalArts and @PrattInstitute
    Taught. Earned. Coursework. Thesis work, both creative (Rachel had a massive solo exhibition filling 1,500 sq ft of gallery space) & written. And, for the record, she finished with a 4.0 GPA at Pratt. Would you have asked if the person in the photo didn’t have Down syndrome?
    17K
  • user avatar
    Jay Handlin
    @jayhandlin
    May 17, 2024
    Replying to @Karaviro @CalArts and @PrattInstitute
    Pablo is one of the subjects of Rachel’s MFA thesis project; she met & photographed portraits of him & the other folks w/Down syndrome who have college degrees. To our knowledge, Pablo was the first to earn a bachelor-level degree- but not a Master’s. He is an amazing man.
    26K
  • user avatar
    Jay Handlin
    @jayhandlin
    May 17, 2020
    Replying to @eskimoC @cookyh and @CalArts
    Thank you. It is not a self-portrait, although Rachel has taken a wonderful series of self-reflections. My wife Laura (Rachel’s amazing mom) took it on her iPhone.
  • user avatar
    Jay Handlin
    @jayhandlin
    May 16, 2024
    Replying to @HaleyAnnGM @CalArts and @PrattInstitute
    Oh, bless your heart. But heavens, no :) The MFA is, as they say, a “terminal degree.”
    64K
  • user avatar
    Jay Handlin
    @jayhandlin
    May 17, 2020
    Replying to @DianaSheridan11 and @CalArts
    Thank you very much! Hopefully Rachel will have a website up this summer. She has a couple of big projects underway that she will continue to work on (and ideas for new ones). And, later this year, she is thinking about applying to MFA programs.
  • user avatar
    Jay Handlin
    @jayhandlin
    May 14, 2024
    4 years ago a quarter-million of you said #CongratulationsRachel when my daughter #RachelHandlin (who has #Downsyndrome) earned her @CalArts BFA. Many of you have followed her educational/artistic journeys. Watch this space. Tomorrow is an even bigger day. ⁦@wendyluwrites⁩
    9.7K
  • user avatar
    Jay Handlin
    @jayhandlin
    Feb 26, 2022
    A year and a half ago I said it was hard for me to imagine ever being comfortable again riding the NYC subway without wearing a mask, and my view on that has not changed. And woe to anybody who yells at me for still wearing a mask.
  • user avatar
    Jay Handlin
    @jayhandlin
    May 3, 2021
    In this graduation/commitment season, I’m beyond proud that starting Fall 2021 my daughter Rachel Handlin will pursue her MFA Photography at @PrattInstitute. Rachel is 1 of only 12 ppl w/#Downsyndrome we’ve found in the world w/college degrees. Perhaps the 1st in a grad program.
  • user avatar
    Jay Handlin
    @jayhandlin
    May 17, 2020
    Replying to @MinxGenie and @CalArts
    It’s an expression. Rhetorical. It means, essentially, “I dare you to challenge what I said.” I intended to say it with humor, and I sincerely hope it is perceived that way.
  • user avatar
    Jay Handlin
    @jayhandlin
    May 11, 2024
    My family and I got re-boosted today. Because Covid is still around. And, fortunately, so is science.
    6.7K
  • user avatar
    Jay Handlin
    @jayhandlin
    May 15, 2021
    A year ago, news of my daughter's college graduation broke Twitter. Rachel is one of the few people in the world w/#Downsyndrome to earn a college degree. Now, a year later, she's preparing to start her MFA studies in the Fall at Pratt Institute. And yes, I'm still that proud.
    user avatar
    Jay Handlin
    @jayhandlin
    May 16, 2020
    This is my daughter, Rachel Handlin. Tonight, she earned her full Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Photography & Media from the prestigious California Institute of the Arts, @CalArts⁩. Rachel has #Downsyndrome. I am officially the proudest father on the planet. Fight me.