A person with a disability and a message
What's this woman got to say to us?
For four years, Anna Williamson, who has spina bifida, has been a student manager for the University of Virginia's men's basketball team. Because of her disability, she has limited use of her lower extremities from the knees down, and particularly in her right leg.
The disability has not stopped her from doing things she wanted to do. She's not only pursued her academic career (she's a philosophy major), but she's spent many hours every week during her undergraduate years working hard to support UVA basketball.
As Andrew Ramspacher documented in "'The Perfect Embodiment' of UVA's Program: How Anna Williamson Personfies Hope," the UVA team honored Ms. Williamson during a championship ceremony.
Her four years of dedication were rewarded March 4 after the Wahoos defeated the University of Louisville to claim a share of the ACC regular season title. To commemorate the achievement, UVA players, coaches and staffers took turns climbing a ladder and snipping off pieces of the net from one of the rims...
But then all of “them” became overjoyed for her. Williamson, prompted by [senior members of the basketball staff], was the last to climb the ladder. She had the honor of cutting the net’s final strands. She quickly wore the net as a necklace as the [UVA players] cheered her on at midcourt.
That's pretty inspiring stuff, to me. But even more inspiring is her observation about disability that Mr. Ramspacher quoted:
“My favorite part of all this is that I can talk to parents and let them know that it’s not the end of the world if their child has spina bifida,” she said. “A child’s value doesn’t change at all because of his or her disability....”
There are other sources out there on the Intertubes… check Twitter, of example.
You go, Ms. Williamson. Lead on!