Disabled College Student Presses On

...She now sits in a wheelchair with a body that refuses to do what she wants it to do.Though Brandy can't walk, speak clearly or write with a pencil, she has managed to graduate from high school and navigate her way through her first year of college.That success comes in spite of daily obstacles, she says in her essay titled, "How to Tell a True Ignorance Story." In it she describes the slights she has encountered during her first year at college.

Her essay begins, "I wish it wasn't, but this is a real story.

Our society with all its training and college education is still uneducated concerning citizens with disabilities." Brandy communicates through her aide, Janice Walker, with a computer or with halting speech.

She lives off campus and has to carry her communication equipment with her.

"I'm always in tow of multiple bags, so when I press the handicap access button to open the door for myself it takes a minute before I can maneuver into the doorway."By then a whole line of people are walking right in front of me, barring my way as though I were invisible," she said.

"It's as if my wheelchair makes me invisible."Brandy's mother, Mary Bolin, said Laura Rich of the Campbell University staff works as a liaison between the family and school to address obstacles as they are presented."I want to believe that people are genuinely good individuals," Brandy said.

"I understand th...

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