For most people, a journey to success begins with a single step. But what happens when taking a step is something you can’t do? How does one beat the odds to become successful while confined to a wheelchair?
This was the problem that Shane Coleman, a senior at Eastern Michigan University, faced. Luckily for him, determination and perseverance are two of his strongest qualities.
Coleman was born with cerebral palsy. Being confined to a wheelchair has had multiple disadvantages in his life, “I guess, honestly, the hardest part is the stigma of still kind of being the guy in the wheelchair.”
Besides being labeled growing up, Coleman’s condition has also affected his schooling. Initially, Coleman attended Baker College of Jackson. Then
he attended Colorado Technical University for a year via online courses.
“My original plan was to move down there to Colorado and to finish the degree down there, but I didn’t have the resources at the time.”
It was then that Coleman decided to attend EMU.
“I found out about Eastern’s information assurance program and it was one of the best in the country… It was the best choice and Eastern was the best decision I ever made. Beyond the degree, I’ve never had so much fun as these past three years.”
Coleman majoring in information assurance is something he’s been interested in since high school.
“I went to school at a vocational technical place in the morning and did classes in the afternoon at high school,” he said of his years at East Jackson High School. “That vocational technical school really got me into computers.”
Between classes and vocational studies, Coleman found a hidden passion for business.
“One of my best friends in high school, Matt, really got me into this thing called Business Professionals of America,” he said. “It is a regional, national and states competition with all sorts of business topics… I competed in a networking competition my junior and senior years.
In my senior year, I placed fourth in regionals, fourth in states and fiftieth in nationals.”
Though Coleman certainly has talent in business and technology, he’s always been interested in working with people.
“I care about helping people,” he said. “Honestly, if it wasn’t for my degree and my love for computers and all the technology, I would do student affairs. I love to help students. I’m always going above and beyond in the lab that I work in to make sure students have access to it… because I just want to see other students succeed.”
Part of Coleman’s love for student affairs stems from his work as a New Student Orientation Assistant for the past two years. As an NSOA, he enjoys showing new students around campus and making their “First Four” days at EMU fun and memorable.
Outside of just helping students at EMU, Coleman also likes helping people on a national level.
“I’ve done alternative spring breaks every year that I’ve been here,” he said. “The first year I went to Tennessee… the program was called Children’s Literacy… and then the next year I went to The Boys and Girls Club.”
The most recent alternative spring break Coleman did worked with a program called Camp Courageous in Iowa.
“We worked with adults with disabilities,” Coleman said. “The disabilities ranged from OCD to autism to Asperger’s. There were people who were nonverbal; there were people who were wheelchair bound also with cognitive impairments.”
“I feel like, to me, the Camp Courageous experience trumps both of [the other alternative spring breaks] because… we had more meaningful work to do…They actually needed us at Camp Courageous because that meant more campers could come in… I think, honestly, part of it is the fact that I never had something like that for myself and I want other people to experience [it]…”
Even without experiences like Camp Courageous, Coleman maintains the mind frame that, “My disability, if anything, would push me more to want to do even better. There are people that still tell me that I can’t do something, and I hate that. I like to prove them wrong, and I do, all the time.”
It’s this attitude that gives Coleman the courage to be himself. “I’ll tell you flat out that I’m the most comfortable with my situation as anyone could really be. I’m happy with who I am, and I honestly wouldn’t change this for anything.”
