For the month of October, I participated in two events. The first one was an appearance at my old elementary school, the F.A. Cleveland Elementary School in Norwood, MA on October 22nd, where I got to speak with the entire second grade about my life and the advocacy work I do for Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts and other organizations. During the summer I contacted the current principal of my elementary school briefly explaining about being Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts 2010 and how one of my goals was to mentor children with and without disabilities to pursue their dreams no matter what obstacles they may face and also to teach them that people with disabilities are exactly the same as people without disabilities. I had requested to speak to a first or second grade class because I am going to be going into Early Childhood Education and I will be certified from PK-2nd grade, and I think the younger the better. A few weeks later, I got in contact with one of the second grade teachers who had showed great interest in my request for an appearance and we communicated through e-mail and coordinated a date and time for me to come in, and I was very excited it all worked out. At the same time, I was nervous about going back to the school I haven’t set foot in since 1995. Overall, I was happy and grateful to finally be able to give back to a school that did so much for me.
My plan was very specific about what I wanted to do, but I did have to do a little re-organizing at the last minute because I hadn’t realized I would be talking to the entire second grade at the school. Originally I thought it was just one class, but this was even more exciting! I talked a little bit about my life and the physical and attitudinal challenges I face day to day and about how I advocate for other people with disabilities, through the Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts Foundation. I also wanted to leave time to answer any questions that they might have for me. Finally I ended my visit by reading to them the Dr. Seuss book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!!” which I think carries a really positive message about overcoming obstacles and having patience and perseverance to achieve all of your goals in life.
Overall, I just wanted them to learn a little bit about disability awareness, how to treat others who are different from them and for them to see for themselves that people with disabilities are exactly the same as people without disabilities. In the end, I feel great to have been able to teach children such an important lesson at a young age. It is so important to have good “roll”/role models in life.
One thing that really amazes me about children is how much more willing they can be to learn about people who are different from themselves than adults usually are and that they always come up with great questions to ask out of curiosity. Often times they seem to be more willing to give people who are different a chance than adults are, but of course they need to be taught to respect differences in others. If no one teaches them, then the same attitudinal barriers will remain about people with disabilities, not giving them equal rights. It all starts with children; if they learn at an early age to accept diversity and to treat everyone with respect regardless of their differences then they will continue that practice as adults and pass that quality on to future generations there by making a great impact on the world around them. As a future educator, mentor and role model to my prospective students I definitely plan on teaching my students about this very important topic and help them make good decisions about others. I enjoyed the short time I got to spend at my old elementary school making a difference.
The second event that I participated in was the Boston Spinal Cord Injury Conference (Stepping Forward- Staying Informed 2010 Consumer Research Conference) which was held at the Boston Convention Center on October 23rd from 9-5pm. With October being Spina Bifida Awareness Month and being born with Spina Bifida, it was very important for me to attend this conference to promote awareness of all those who have some sort of spinal cord injury. This was another event that I got to participate in along with some of the other women involved with Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts which was really fun being able to advocate together for people with disabilities. The woman who was organizing this event was Judi Zazula, who was our main contact person for the day. Upon arrival to check in I saw that my cousin who works with kids with disabilities too was helping out with sign-in and registration which was a nice surprise, and a good opportunity to catch up with her too. The topics presented ranged from life with a spinal cord injury to medical conditions associated with it, and health promotion for people with spinal cord injuries. The speakers were all nice people who were very knowledgeable and overall it was an informative meeting with a lot to learn about the progress with spinal cord injury research.
There was also an excellent opportunity for networking as well because there were many different exhibitors who had tables, just like the vendors at our Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts pageant. They ranged from wheelchair companies to independent living centers to fitness facilities, all the way to adaptive sports including sailing and hand cycling. I got to learn about ILC meetings in my area and also got some contacts for the fitness facilities as well. We had a table for the Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts Foundation with information about the pageant and although we didn’t seem to recruit many more contestants (there were a few interests here and there), we seemed to have a couple of vendors interested in our program which was great.
So ends another great month as Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts. I hope to continue to meet more wonderful people and make more connections and friendships with this great opportunity. Stay tuned for updates during the upcoming months as I continue my adventures with advocacy and meeting new people during my reign as Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts 2010!
