One day back in January I opened up Facebook and saw that I had a
message. When I opened that message, I was in shock and completely humbled.
That message was Sammy asking if I would be like to be a guest speaker at
graduation in May.
Eagerly accepting, thoughts began to run wild in my head and
I immediately began thinking what would I talk about? I’m only 25 years…not too
many years older than these seniors…what “great advice” can I give to them? I knew the only thing I could really
speak on was what I know…and that is what I have been through and the lessons
I’ve learned from it. And then when I found out my dear friend and co-worker
Scott was going to speak as well, I knew it was going to be amazing.
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| Scott giving the Invocation |
There are 15 young men and women in the BHS 2012 Senior Class
and each of them are unique in their own way and so talented. Just this year they have accomplished
so much - numerous members of the class helped bring home a State Championship
title in Scholars Bowl, others participated in State Forensics, and four of the
senior ladies made a trip to State Volleyball. They have extremely bright
futures and I cannot wait to see where they go in life.
 |
| BHS Class of 2012 |
I woke up on Saturday feeling great...for the first time in
about a week or so I had gotten a good night’s rest. I had no nerves, just
ready for the day! Well, the nerves hit me about noon and I wasn’t sure if I
would be able to make it to 4 o’clock. Telling my story in front of a gym, full
of people…giving advice to fifteen seniors…I was a nervous wreck, but when Abbi
got up and made her introduction (thankfully it did not make me cry), I wheeled
my way up to the mic, swallowed my nervousness, and began.
I was shocked and truly humbled when I looked up and the
entire crowd was on their feet clapping. This was my community and these are
the people who have supported me throughout my entire life…to see them showing
me so much love and support reconfirmed how truly blessed I am.
The Senior Class of 2012 was the 100th class to
graduate from Bucklin High School and I was honored that I was asked to take
part in such a momentous day. Thank you seniors, as this is a day I will never
forget.
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For those of you who missed it and are interested in my
speech…here you go!
Wow, it
feels almost like yesterday that I sat in Jeff Torline’s chair listening to
Mrs. Rhodes give our commencement speech while waiting to walk across this
stage and if you would have told me 7 years ago I’d be up on this stage again,
I would have never believed you. In fact, I wouldn’t have believed you if you would
have told me anything that has taken place in these past years.
After
graduating from BHS, I was ready to get out of this town – ready to start
something new. I chose to do that at Pratt Community College where I studied
Accounting, but never actually took an Accounting class, and I played
volleyball. It was a great year, filled with a ton of memories, and when I
graduated in May of 2006, I felt as if I knew exactly what I was going to do
with my life. I was ready to head to Hays to finish my Bachelor’s degree and
have fun…I was ready to start my life.
My plans
took a drastic turn on July 22, 2006 when I dove from a tree into the Illinois
River near Tallequah, OK. It was there that I crushed my C5 vertebrae and
bruised my spinal cord, leaving me a C5-C6 quadriplegic. After a lifetime of being an athlete
who was extremely active, I found myself lying in a hospital bed, barely able
to lift my head off my pillow or move my arms. After two weeks at St. John’s in
Tulsa, I was transferred to TIRR in Houston to complete my initial rehab phase
and to learn the adjustments of living with a spinal cord injury. Six weeks
after my accident, I returned home for the first time on September 7, 2006.
Since my initial rehab in Houston, I
have traveled back to Houston two other times within the year of 2007 and went
to Detroit every summer from 2008-2010.
In 2007, I
started back to work part-time at BTI and I began to pursue my Bachelor’s
degree, taking classes from Fort Hays State University’s online program. I
majored in Management with a concentration in Human Resources and finally in
May of 2009, I graduated. It was then when I began working full-time for BTI as
their HR Coordinator.
I have been
told that what I have accomplished since the on-set of my injury has been
remarkable; however, for me it has been nothing but my day-to-day life – but I
do know that I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish what I have without a few
things: my faith, family and friends, a good work ethic, and knowing who I was
and who I wanted to become.
Throughout
my entire life, especially the last 6 years, my faith has been my refuge. When
doubt begins to set in my mind and I begin to ask why, I try to remember as
quickly as possible that I am in good hands and “with God all things are
possible.”
There is no
way in the world that I would be where I am now without the support of my
family, friends, and this community.
I have been blessed, and you, seniors, have been blessed, to grow up
here and be a part of a tight-knit community – a community that cares about one
another, supports your activities, and comes together in times of need. I know that you guys are itching to
walk across this stage and start a new chapter in your life, but please don’t
forget who has helped you along your way and all the memories you’ve made up
and down these halls.
Speaking of
memories, some of my best high school memories took place in this gym. This is
the place where I learned that hard work and practice paid off, as we brought
home as many wins as possible during my four years. When I got hurt, I knew
that if I would take that mentality and work ethic into physical therapy, I
would succeed. I first thought and even told some people, “I’ve been in
physical therapy before…my spinal cord is just bruised… if I work hard enough,
I’ll be walking by Christmas.” That was my little bout of denial, which I
quickly came out of, but I still knew that if I was going to improve, I needed
to work hard every day in PT…just as I had in high school and college, and just
like you seniors have for the past four years. Because of that hard work and
perseverance, I learned to sit up on my own, do quite a bit of my care myself,
and most of all be able to push myself around.
This class
knows a few things about hard work – look around at these banners…State
Scholars Bowl Champs, State Forensics participants, and trip to Hays for State
Volleyball for four of these ladies, not mention those who will be competing
for State Track here in two weeks. They have put a significant amount of blood,
sweat and tears…not to mention time…for what they have accomplished and I,
personally, couldn’t be more proud of them. You seniors also know a thing or
two about perseverance. When you lost Zac last year, you kept going forward,
putting one foot in front of the other even if it felt as if you were going
nowhere. You have handled adversity with upmost dignity and grace….and now you
have a guardian angel throughout all your journeys in life.
Last, but
not least, I credit my success to knowing who I am and who I want to be. I had
a plan when I graduated high school and although it didn’t work out; I have a
new plan now. Because of my accident, I have realized the importance of being
true to oneself and that is why I chose my platform for Ms. Wheelchair Kansas to
be about Empowering Youth to Define Themselves. I am constantly saying that one
must not let certain situations or other people define who they are, so
seniors, please know that who you are is defined by what you make of certain
situations, how you treat people, and how you inwardly reflect – not by who’s
child you are, where you grew up, or how successful you are.
Seniors, I
know you all have a plan for the future and I know that you have a great sense
of who you are, but please remember to not take anything for granted because
life can change in an instant. Remember to work hard at everything you do
because it will pay off in some way or another; always be respectful and
responsible for you never know who is watching and treat every situation as an
opportunity because you never know what might come of it. Please, do not be
afraid to make mistakes, they are inevitable; but most importantly I want you
to remember to have fun and enjoy all the days ahead of you.
I want to
thank you all again for allowing me to speak on this momentous day and to you
seniors, good luck with all your future endeavors…I am extremely proud of you
and can’t wait to see what your futures hold.
