Robert and Suzi DeGennaro Scholarship for Disabled Students

My entire life has revolved around my disability. I have cerebral palsy and Goldenhar Syndrome. From the week I came home from the hospital and for the entirety of the last seventeen years of my life, I have been in physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, horseback riding therapy, aqua therapy, participated in many clinical trials and unique medical treatments, and experienced nearly two dozen surgeries so that I can be at the point I am at now. My plans for my future include incorporating all that I have learned from these experiences and combining them with my love for business. I want to eventually obtain my doctorate in business and work to build or support a company that transforms the lives of people with disabilities, as those that came before me did to improve the quality of my life. I want to work to create more inclusive environments for people who experience disabilities in sports industries to include amateur athletics, professional athletics, athletic clothing and footwear, and sports related industries. Part of my goal includes ensuring parents of young children with disabilities are educated on both civil rights and creating and fulfilling their child's dreams and their dreams for their child despite their disability. I want to be an advocate while pursuing my passions in an industry that I enjoy. Despite my own physical disability, I was raised in fully inclusive settings, played sports with my non-disabled peers, and attended all of my classes in a general education classroom without ever being segregated because I experience a disability. I want to combine this important aspect with my love of sports and business. I am hoping to partner with companies such as Nike, Adidas, dress shoe companies, mainstream clothing companies, athletic training equipment companies, and even traditional corporate offices to ensure their facilities, products, and presentations are all inclusive for people who experience a range of disabilities. I want to be considered an expert in the fields of disability studies and sports/business management. I would like to be a person who is consulted with in these fields by people who are in charge of making policies that impact the lives of people who experience disabilities. I want to ensure all people with disabilities have fulfilling lives without being held back by inaccessibility in areas that they shouldn't have to worry about being accessible, their everyday lives and activities. I want everybody to feel like their body belongs and they belong regardless of their differences. In addition to the many life experiences I earned from being born experiencing disability, I am also part of an active-duty military family. This has caused my family to often be split up into different states. My parents are divorced and my stepfather is in the Army. In order to ensure the continuity of my care and the stability of my education, the decision was made that I would not move with them each time that they moved as it was often every year or 18 months. This caused me to often live without my primary parent, instilling both independence and discipline in myself. I was not able to work a regular job because I could not leave every school break. This impacted my ability to earn money and save for college. I instead focused on my education and ensuring that I kept my grades up to earn scholarships to assist me in paying for school. Additional funds will help me be able to attend college and be the person I aspire to be to expand corporate world-views on people with disabilities.