Maggie: Changing the Culture for People with Disabilities

In the realm of education, there exists a profound journey that transcends mere academic achievements—a journey marked by resilience, perseverance, and the unwavering spirit to overcome challenges. Maggie, a second-year culinary arts student, embodies these strong character traits. She is an inspiration to all who have had the privilege of witnessing her growth.

Maggie’s encouraging energy is contagious. Every morning, she gets the students excited about what lies ahead that day. “Maggie makes me happy!” exclaimed one of her culinary arts classmates. “She makes us laugh and helps us think about the positive in every situation.”

Maggie shines Jesus’ love to all around her.

One of her most enjoyable qualities is her humorous wit and fearlessness in speaking her mind when she thinks someone needs to hear her message. She approaches challenges with determination and a can-do attitude, setting an example for the class. To her classmates and instructors, Maggie is a source of inspiration to keep going when the day gets difficult.

Life has presented Maggie with many challenges. With the love and support of her family, she learned to navigate through many of these, but coming to Shepherds College®, a new environment away from her parents, presented her with different challenges. Joining our occupational program as someone who greatly struggled with fine and gross motor skills, the culinary team had to think outside the box to create a vision and pathway for Maggie to thrive in her own way so she could take that plan into the working world. She joined our instructor track within our culinary arts program, where she received specialized attention as we learned how to find her strengths and then focused on helping her develop them.

Initially, Maggie’s confidence and motivation lay dormant, overshadowed by the weight of her challenges. Yet, a remarkable metamorphosis began to unfold when given the space to cultivate her strengths in an atmosphere of acceptance and encouragement. With each passing day, Maggie’s confidence blossomed, and she approached each task with newfound determination, eager to showcase her abilities.

Today, Maggie is known as one of the hardest workers in her culinary class. She may not be able to perform all the kitchen tasks that her classmates are doing or use the same strength to lift heavier equipment, but she excels in her class with her diligent work ethic and only wants to sit down once she has done everything she can. She busses dirty dishes, sprays them for the dishwasher and puts them away, folds towels, and loves to help her classmates measure or mix ingredients. Her ability to always think ahead to the next step is impressive. Even when she takes a break, she asks if she can do her hand-strengthening exercises.

Each morning, she is eager to greet her classmates at the door with a welcoming smile and show them to their seats, as she looks forward to doing the same at a restaurant after graduation.

Maggie is a culture changer. She continues to teach us that people should not be defined by their disability. The world will change when we create spaces to let someone’s abilities shine through. In a work environment, an individual’s capabilities might not align with our expectations or fit our molds for holding a job. However, we need to learn to think outside the box or create a new kind of box, allowing them to contribute to society according to their unique strengths.

If you are willing to be inclusive and accommodating, you will find the same positive change in your community that we found in our classroom.