Yesterday I told a story of inspiration from a student at Rangeview. Today I will tell the story of one of my students. We had a wheelchair-bound student with a deteriorating muscular disease. He was interested in art and graphic design. He was interested in taking classes at the vocational school for our district. They were not equipped to accommodate him and his counselor asked if there was a way he could take either my desktop publishing or multimedia classes. He had a very limited range with his hands so it was going to be a challenge. I found an old-style desk and raised it very high so that his chair could fit underneath. The table was able to move close to his body so he could work the mouse and other drawing tools. I would love to sit with him and watch him work. I became more frustrated that he couldn’t do more advanced classes. We spent the year lobbying to get him in. When they saw the setup I had created they tried it. He did go there the next year and flourished. I would see him for the rest of that year and he had a smile on his face all the time. This was a young man that had a mission and he was going to make it happen. It was an honor the be a part of his education and anytime I feel a little sorry for myself, I only have to think about him to put it into perspective. Unfortunately, the story has a bittersweet ending. He passed a few years after high school from complications of his illness. The comfort I take is that he was able to do what he loved for a time and that Rangeview was a haven for his dreams. I am truly thankful I knew him and I will always have that in my heart. I will never stop telling the story to students to let them know they can dream and know that there are people who will have their backs.
