by As a person with varying degrees of mobility issues, thanks to a leg that I often lovingly and begrudgingly refer to as “robot leg”, (due to the amount of metal hardware inside that always gets me a pat down at airports) why would I even attempt to go out to sea? Because, even though I am disabled I haven’t lost my sense of adventure and desire to keep learning.
STEMSeas allowed me to combine my love of adventures and passion for science in one location. They also made every accommodation possible so that I could get the full experience just as any other student.
Did you guys know that ships have stairs? I mean, a lot of stairs. I’m talking about New York City Subway amount of stairs. Stairs and robot leg don’t get along very well on solid ground so learning to do stairs on a moving ship has been an adventure on its own. When I’m having a hard time on the stairs at sea there is always someone willing and able to help, be it crew from the ship or another participant of STEMSeas.
If the ship is rocking, someone always offers to hold my hand and people always volunteer to give up their seat. Even the cook offered to help carry my food when I was struggling.
Earlier today, I was having some severe pain and wasn’t able to participate for a few hours. Steve (excuse me, Dr.Pekar) brought me lunch in bed and checked on me every hour until I felt ready to tackle those stairs and join everyone else.
The professors even made the science projects accessible where I could participate in any given one and never felt deprived of learning something new. If I had to miss a lecture they would be put up online so I could see them later and never miss a thing. They have made me feel capable and proud of my abilities even if they are different from others.
I never thought I would be able to go out to sea after I became disabled. Here I am. STEMSeas has inspired me to see what else I can go out to do.
Maybe my next adventure will be climbing a mountain or trekking across the Amazon.
-Leah
