Meet Christine:

A 17-year-old junior, she is a wheelchair tennis and basketball athlete who promotes wheelchair athletics through public speaking.  She plans to attend the University of Arizona where there is a developed wheelchair tennis program.  There, she will study a program in preparation for pediatric nursing.  In the meantime, Christine chauffeurs students in her carpool and works part-time at a local store in the jewelry department.  Christine has also been invited to a youth leadership conference in Washington, D.C.

Jennifer:

She is a 17-year-old senior at a South Bay area high school where she has a passion for studying math and science.  She has always been eager to experience college and has already been accepted to Santa Clara University.  At college, Jennifer plans to study finances and/or business.  Along with her academic talents, Jennifer trains dogs while using her wheelchair.

Jenny:

This San Jose State University graduate majored in computer science and now works at Cisco Systems.  During Jenny’s five years in college, she benefited from the wheelchair-friendly campus environment as well as working with her counselors provided by the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC).  The counselors work with their students to address their students’ special needs and provide services such as access, adaptive technology, and preferential scheduling.  Though Jenny never lived on the school campus, San Jose State does have accessible dorm rooms. Jenny plans to drive a van to work

Cheri Blauwet:

The gold medal Paralympic race winner attends medical school at Stanford University.  As an undergraduate student, she majored in Molecular and Cellular Biology.  Her ultimate goal in medical school is to change the quality of life for individuals with disabilities worldwide.  Cheri always has been focused on athletics.  She is a 2005 Boston Marathon winner and a 2005 Los Angeles Marathon winner as well as an Athens 2004 Paralympic Games medalist in both bronze and gold.

Chris:

He first visited his future college, U.C. Berkeley, when he was a freshman in high school.  He is currently working on his major in media communications and also hopes to study abroad.  Chris’ U.C. Berkeley experience allows him to live two blocks away from campus in a dorm where 17 able-bodied students live with four disabled students per floor.  The Disabled Students Residence program provides aide support during a disabled student’s first semester.  During that semester, students are trained to hire their own aides for their second semester in the dorm.  Thereafter, students find their housing off campus.

Theo:

A 17-year-old junior at a South Bay area high school where he spent his freshman and sophomore years as class president.  Though Theo has not yet selected a specific college, he plans to commute to school by driving his own car.  He wants to major in mathematics with the hopes of teaching math at the high school level.  Despite his physical limitations, Theo knows that he is a normal young adult who has many opportunities in his college life waiting ahead of him. Theo is also involved in student government.

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