鼓舞人心的猫头鹰

Even though I have a condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), 在我心中, I never labeled or visualized myself as someone who had a disability. I have used a power wheelchair since the age of four years old, yet I always felt like I was just a typical kid like all my peers. Despite my physical limitations, I had a strong desire to be a good student. 我一直很喜欢运动, and because I was never able to play competitively, I made academics my own personal sport. Because of limited function in my arms and hands, 在小学, 我开始接触辅助技术，帮助我独立完成学业. I never really enjoyed being the only student in the class with a laptop, 但现在我意识到我的笔记本电脑, glide-pad鼠标, 屏幕上的键盘, and numerous other programs had a significant role in my academic success.

 2015年，我以全班前15%的成绩以4分的成绩从西博卡拉顿社区高中毕业.1平均绩点. 我高中时的优异成绩使我获得了大学全额奖学金. I was ecstatic and nervous when I got accepted into FAU. I always had a history of being a good student, but I did not know what to expect as a college student. 在被录取后不久，我收到了一份加入大学荣誉项目的邀请. While I was honored to receive the invitation, I questioned whether I belonged in this rigorous program. 然而, 在收到额外的信息并了解到项目的好处之后, 我决定走出我的舒适区，通过报名参加这个项目来挑战自己.

 Throughout my four memorable years as a business management major at FAU, 我努力工作以保持4分.0的绩点. I also graduated as the 2017 Valedictorian of the University Honors Program, served as an Elite Owl Leadership and Service Ambassador, 曾担任全国大学学者协会的执行副主席, and became a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, The National Society of Leadership and Success, 还有Phi Kappa Phi. 我承诺实现这些雄心勃勃的目标，以证明残疾人和非残疾人通过努力工作和对愿景的真正承诺可以实现任何目标. Everyone faces visible and nonvisible obstacles in his or her lives, 尽管人们面临挑战，但他们所取得的成就显示了他们作为个体的真实身份.

 I am forever grateful for 学生无障碍服务, 教授, 教师, and family and friends who supported my academic endeavors. 我计划于2019年8月毕业，获得工商管理学士学位。. In 2020, 我希望继续我的教育，攻读工商管理硕士学位。. 

2019年2月

Booker T. 华盛顿曾经写道:“衡量一个人成功的标准，与其说是看他在生活中所取得的地位，不如说是看他克服了多少障碍。." These words ring true for this month's Inspirational Owl.

My name is Alexis, and growing up, I was extremely active in the arts. 从音乐和戏剧制作，到电影和图像制作，我都参与了. 然而, 二十岁的时候, 在一次浪漫的约会中，我在过马路时被一辆车撞了，造成了严重的创伤性脑损伤.  Not waking up from a coma in a day or two, 甚至几个星期……但几个月后，我面前的恢复之路非常艰难. 这里只列举了一些困难, 我必须学会走路, 用我的手, 吃, 喝少量液体和交谈. To some, giving up may seem like the only option. 如果你问一个病人, educator or family member of a neurological disorder, to list the top five things you find as the most testing or difficult, “好奇”总是榜上有名.

I give thanks to God every day because in my case, 许多不确定因素都是通过坚持和奉献来实现的.  例如, 当我被告知事故的时候, I was not able to walk or even hold my head up on my own. 然而, after I was sent to The Shepherd Center in Atlanta, 第二次去乔治亚州, I realized the difference between a brain injury and paralysis. 区别在于KU体育下肢是否有感觉(脑损伤)(瘫痪). I was able to feel my legs but was not able to walk. I lacked the strength that was needed to take a step on my own. 由于受伤，我每天都被送到健身房去恢复体力. No matter how I looked or what others thought, I went to the gym.

Once I started walking again, I had a new goal: to learn and understand. After approval from my physical therapist and neurologist, I was able to register for a class or two at Palm Beach State College. I took the same strategy that I used for walking to learn. 幸运的是, my tuition payments gave me access to tutors, and the necessary equipment and laboratories needed to succeed.  I took advantage of the resources and went to get tutored every day! 不管我每天走进来的样子如何，也不管别人怎么看我，我还是去了!

2018年春天，我从棕榈滩州立学院毕业，获得了传播学学位. 从那里, 我决定在KU体育官网APP继续深造，我可以诚实地说，我从来没有后悔过这个决定. The 教师 of the 学生无障碍服务, and the Dorothy F. 施密特艺术与文学学院真正关心学生的成功. 我的家人, 导师, 雇主, 优秀的老师总是抽出时间来确保我理解不同的概念, and how to 应用 them to certain situations. My advice would be to never, ever give up on your life!

2018年11月

奥黛丽·赫本, 一位英国女演员曾经说过, “没有什么是不可能的。, 这个词本身就在说‘我是可能的’。”. 在多次被告知上大学对她来说是不可能的之后，这句话可能是珍妮弗的口头禅，难以磨灭.

I struggled at first throughout grade school with my disabilities. 在我很小的时候就被告知，在实现同样的目标方面，我和班上的其他孩子不同, 让我很难接受自己. My reading was not on the same level as the other kids in my class, and my comprehension skills were weaker for my age group.  读ing at a lower level in turned affected my spelling ability. 在小学, I had an Individual Education Program (IEP), 这成为我整个学校直到高中的学术档案中的固定内容. 我会早点离开教室，去另一个班级，从另一个老师那里学习. 我觉得自己很蠢，觉得自己不能像班上其他人一样出类拔萃. My friends would always inquired of me, 我要去的地方, and I was too embarrassed to talk about it. The older I got, the easier it was for me to accept who I was.  Everyone is different in their own unique way. People learn at different speeds and people excel at different rates. This is what makes people beautiful in their own way. 在高中时, I did not planned on furthering my education, because I was not sure that I was cutout for college. I was not academically on the same level as other 学生 at my grade level. 因此，做出获得文学副学士(AA)学位的选择并不容易. It took me a little longer to complete my AA, 但一旦我完成, I realized that I was capable of continuing my education. 第一次，我喜欢学习，我有了一个我想要实现的目标.

I am not the gr吃est at test taking; multiple choice questions have always given me test anxiety, and I do much better on fill in the blank questions. 考试时提供give我的额外时间，帮助我保持专注，不放弃. 我学会了从后到前(或从下到上)考试，这很有帮助. 即使我没有考好，我知道我会尽我最大的努力.  Applying myself is all that matters and never giving up is very important. After finishing my AA in Criminal Justice at a junior college in Marianna, 佛罗里达, 我进入棕榈滩州立学院(PBSC)学习生物专业，后来转到KU体育官网APP(FAU)。. 我在2016年创办了FAU, 我现在是一名大三学生，将于2019年春季毕业，获得普通科学学士学位和两个证书, one in Environmental Science and GIS Mapping. 我现在是一名全日制学生, 但是我大学的大部分时间, I attended as part-time—focusing on one or two classes per semester. 我相信证书是一种探索更多选择的好方法，可以让你了解自己感兴趣的东西. 如果符合标准，则可以使用该证书来满足任何选修课的要求. 我的GIS制图证书也为我打开了很多就业的机会.

最近, 去年，我开始在当地的州立公园做志愿者，五个月内就得到了一份兼职工作. Through this experience, I discovered the importance of volunteering. 志愿者ing will provide a foot-in-the-door, and it is the best networking opportunity for future success.  My end goal is to stay in the Park Service for a couple years, then 应用 to 佛罗里达 Fish and Wildlife. 只要最终能实现目标，改变目标是完全自然的.

Finding an interest makes the work seem easy and the struggle worth it. As I look back on my journey and the path traveled, I would have never guessed that I would be completing my Bachelor. The feeling of accomplishment makes all the struggles, 所有的不眠之夜, 所有的咖啡都值得. 每个人都有他或她自己的空间，开始和结束某事永远不会太晚.

2018年6月