I belong to a minority group that is one of the smallest minorities in the United States; along with approximately .6 percent of the US population, I am a wheelchair user. I have grown up in a community greatly lacking in people, especially mentors, that "look like me". I have never had a teacher that looks like me, not in elementary school, not in middle school, not in high school, and not in college.
There has never once been a time in the history of my elementary, middle nor high school career that there was an administrator, school counselor, secretary, school nurse, or coach that looked like me; it was not until my senior year in college that the DisAbilities Resources for Students (DRS) hired a counselor "who looked like me", and by this time, I was no longer in need of a mentor; I had made it though school, had formed my dreams and was (and still am) in the process of pursuing and achieving them.
There are not many people that surround me, in my daily life, that share the commonality of being in a wheelchair. Over the years, I have formed a community of fellow wheelchair users; however, we are spread out far and wide and not in each others' daily lives. I, on a daily basis, can see in passing up to about three people who are also in wheelchairs, but usually I am the only one. When I went to Western, it was possible to run across a couple more in one day, but there were only about six students in wheelchairs during my time there, and the campus is a small location. My final quarter at Western, I even had a class with another student who used a wheelchair.
When I was in grade school, I was the only student who used a wheelchair; when I was in middle school, I was the only student who used a wheelchair; and, up until my senior year in high school, I was the only student who used a wheelchair (with the exception of students who became injured and temporarily used one). I never knew an older student in a wheelchair who was in the Bellingham School District who I could talk to face to face.
So, to say my experience of seeing other students in wheelchairs in an academic setting was quite rare, is not exaggerating the truth; yes, this really has to do with there being so few of us, at least in the elementary, middle, and high school years. However, there only being ONE wheelchair user that could be considered a mentor during my nineteen years of schooling, would by other standards be unacceptable -- especially at the high school I went to.
When I attended Squalicum High School, there was a huge focus on hiring a diverse population of teachers, administrators and staff; this was to make sure students could go to someone "who looked like them", and would feel welcome. However, talk of hiring a person with a disability, let alone someone in a wheelchair -- never came into the conversation. This possibly had to do with there being too small of a population of us in wheelchairs to establish a need for hiring a person in a wheelchair. However, if a school is going to work so hard at helping one minority feel welcome and encourage them to be successful by hiring someone "who looks like them", then they need to do this for ALL minorities, even if it will only benefit a handful of students.
That said, I made it though the ranks without an academic mentor "who looked like me". I never found a mentor in the academic setting who totally got my exact needs and struggles, as they had not faced them firsthand. Never the less, I did come across many spectacular mentors who cared about me, who pushed me and helped me to become the best that I could be. I did not need a mentor who "looked like me", I needed mentors who looked at me as a person and took the time to invest in me.
So, to anyone who feels like no one gets you because your life is so different than anyone else's around you, stop pitying yourself; you are only making the situation -- you think to be so horrible --even worse. Realize that there are people around you who do care about you, even if they do not "look like you" or completely understand you. We all are people, but each and everyone of us is different; everyone is unique, and everyone has a different story full of unique -- and sometimes even terrible and hurtful -- experiences. So if you are struggling, let those around you who care help you be successful even if they may not completely understand you.
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