By Wayne Lawson
Business Major

Hello readers of The Beacon. I am Wayne, a nontraditional student – which is a polite way of saying I am older than a few of my instructors. I am beginning my second semester at SMCC, with a tentative major in business. I also have a visual impairment due to chronic ocular migraines (“migraines with aura” for medical terminology sticklers); I am not blind, usually, but I wear sunglasses and I walk with a white cane because “usually” is unreliable.
I have nearly two decades of experience from work in the private vocational rehabilitation industry, pre- and post-dating the onset of my visual impairment, and so I will first be writing what I know: the challenges encountered by students with disabilities, the obvious and the less obvious. While I carry symbols of my disability – sunglasses and white cane – the majority of disabilities remain unseen, and so I hope I may raise awareness of the challenge of “you don’t look disabled.” I will write to The Beacon’s readership as a whole, and not merely to people with disabilities, because people with disabilities tend already to be aware of the challenges they face.
Left unchecked by my editor, however, I will write about the more subtle challenges encountered by students because they are different in one way or another or more. Disabilities, race, ethnicity, religion, socio-economics, sexual orientation – these are easy topics that we often hear about. There are also real challenges that can be faced by any student, leaving them feeling or being alienated from the general community and without the support of an identifiable community of minority.
The ultimate factor is that we are a community. We are many unique individuals, coming together for a common purpose. Our individual needs to drive us together because we may accomplish more en masse than we may singly. We have chosen to be a part of this community, just as we may choose to depart this community. If we are able to work together for our common good, then our opportunities multiply with each included individual, as they diminish with each individual we alienate. It doesn’t always take a lifetime of service to make a difference; sometimes it takes just a few words of encouragement or guidance to someone who appears to need. And so I hope to write to all, for the benefit of all.
If you cope with an under-represented challenge within our campus community, please feel free to talk with me. Even if you cope with a better-represented challenge, I will be happy to talk. I am a full-time student on campus, and I may also be reached by email: wayneelawson@smccme.edu. Obviously, I hope, direct responses from the college should be sought through your faculty advisor, staff advisor, or Sandra Lynham of the Office of Counseling and Disability Services – if you are unsure of who to talk with, the Office of Student Success is a great place to start. I may raise awareness, but they may offer actual assistance.
Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to our school.