As a 10-year-old, I dreamed of attending the University of Wisconsin in Madison, but it seemed so far out of reach for me because I had cerebral play and had difficulty walking independently.
I had no crutches at that time and depended on pushing wheelchairs and “hugging walls” for stability. My therapists thought crutches would limit my development.
I went crutch-less through high school and applied at the Madison campus in 1961 with good grades and a state-funded scholarship. After a meeting with the admissions people, my application was turned down because they had serious questions about how I could navigate the steps and hills of the Madison campus, especially when there were only 15 minutes between class times.
I was devastated because I wanted to major in journalism, and the Madison campus was the only place in the state which offered that degree.
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So, I decided to take my first two years of college at Platteville State College, a flat campus, where all my classes were in one building. I bought a grocery cart to carry my books and provide the stability I needed to walk from my dorm to Old Main.
I then bought Canadian crutches and, for two summers, practiced walking as fast as I could through the fields of our dairy farm, timing myself to see how far I could go in 15 minutes.
By 1963, I was ready to transfer to the Madison campus and was accepted as a junior in journalism/advertising. I graduated with honors in 1965.
* When have you surprised yourself by turning a time of grief into a period of personal growth?
As a 10-year-old, I dreamed of attending the University of Wisconsin in Madison, but it seemed so far out of reach for me because I had cerebral play and had difficulty walking independently.
I had no crutches at that time and depended on pushing wheelchairs and “hugging walls” for stability. My therapists thought crutches would limit my development.
I went crutch-less through high school and applied at the Madison campus in 1961 with good grades and a state-funded scholarship. After a meeting with the admissions people, my application was turned down because they had serious questions about how I could navigate the steps and hills of the Madison campus, especially when there were only 15 minutes between class times.
I was devastated because I wanted to major in journalism, and the Madison campus was the only place in the state which offered that degree.
.
So, I decided to take my first two years of college at Platteville State College, a flat campus, where all my classes were in one building. I bought a grocery cart to carry my books and provide the stability I needed to walk from my dorm to Old Main.
I then bought Canadian crutches and, for two summers, practiced walking as fast as I could through the fields of our dairy farm, timing myself to see how far I could go in 15 minutes.
By 1963, I was ready to transfer to the Madison campus and was accepted as a junior in journalism/advertising. I graduated with honors in 1965.
* When have you surprised yourself by turning a time of grief into a period of personal growth?