This is Much Bigger Than I Am: Taking a Global View on Disability
“Carry your cross, don't drag it!” That's the advice Rob Hurtekant's mother constantly gave him as he was growing up a wheelchair user because of Spina Bifida. It took living on another continent for Rob to fully realize that his “cross” or his burden is shared by people around the world.
Originally from Dallas, Texas, Rob is a 24-year-old graduate student in African Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). A high school interest in the continent of Africa led him to Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, and a six-month stay at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. “It was really a question of where rather than if I was going to study abroad,” says Rob. “I knew I could thrive at the University of Cape Town in part because the school had an Office for Disability Services, and because I found Web sites for wheelchair basketball teams in the area. It was clear that wheelchair users were living fulfilling lives there.”
What Rob experienced in Africa changed his perspective on his disability. “I volunteered at Tembalethu School, a school for kids with special education needs near Cape Town,” he remembers. “Kids with physical disabilities were being put into classrooms alongside kids who had mental disabilities, limiting the pace at which they could learn. I saw people who were denied an education at all because the schools were not accessible.” Rob began to see disability as a social phenomenon—“the world's cross”—because the extent to which individuals cannot realize their potential for lack of a simple ramp into a school building is a weight the world ends up carrying—unnecessarily.
As a result of his experiences, Rob has had opportunities to share his vision with those who can make a difference. He participated in a panel discussion at the 2007 Council on International Educational Exchange's (CIEE) annual conference in Toronto. The panel considered ways to increase the availability of foreign study to people with disabilities. “For me, the encouraging thing about that discussion was that people weren't asking, 'Is this possible?' but 'How can we make this happen?'” Rob recalls. Rob was named 2007 CIEE Student of the Year for his launch of a volunteer program at Tembalethu School.
In 2009 Rob was invited to address the NAFSA: Association of International Educators conference in Los Angeles. NAFSA is an organization that promotes the exchange of students and scholars to and from the United States. “The measure of anyone's life is the extent to which they can impact others,” says Rob. “These opportunities to share my experiences arose, and I'm grateful for them.”
Never the 'rabble-rouser' type, Rob has found a style of advocacy that fits his nature. “I've come to define advocacy differently for myself,” he comments. “I don't need to be confrontational or demanding, but I do need to resolve the tension between complaining about the structures and institutions that aren't working for me, and finding ways to expand opportunities for myself and for others. I’ve learned from my mom that being more gracious than I feel like being is not a weakness, but a good tactic for beginning a conversation and helping someone to see my point of view and make a change.”
Last summer, Rob returned to South Africa for an isiZulu language immersion program funded by a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education. He spent several weeks studying at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg, and also lived with two Zulu families, first just outside of a city called Mbali and then in the rural town of Maqongqo. Rob plans to complete his master's degree in June, and is currently pursuing employment as a State Department Foreign Service Officer as well as other opportunities within the federal government, and in the private sector as a consultant for African affairs.
Rob likes to quote a Zulu proverb to explain what motivates him. “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. A person is a person through other people—humanity is relational.”
This article was reprinted from Insights Into Spina Bifida®, the Spina Bifida Association's national magazine.
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