Making My Trip Meaningful Beyond Myself

I’ve always been passionate about movement and exercise. I love biking, climbing, skiing, running, strength training, and almost all things active (especially if it involves exploring in the outdoors). And I’ve always been excited to share my passion for movement with others, promoting the benefits of living actively, and happily assisting and joining friends and family to try new exercises, sports, and activities.

This passion motivated me to study sport science, learning more about the mechanisms of how our body moves and the ways exercise changes and benefits our bodies and minds. My path studying sport science led me to my PhD, where I am studying the potential of wearable robotic exoskeletons to improve mobility for children with physical disability from Cerebral Palsy (CP). During my PhD, I have gotten to know and been deeply inspired by the courage, perseverance, and positive outlook of so many of the kids with CP that I’ve worked with, and I’ve developed a keen interest in the potential of science and emerging technologies to empower people across the disability spectrum to move and live without limitations. Yet, I’ve also witnessed the challenges, barriers, and stigma that continue to restrict access and opportunities for people with disabilities to be able to fully live and thrive equally. My path thus far has driven me to want to do my part in promoting accessibility, inclusion, and independence for disabled people, to work towards a world where everyone, regardless of ability level, can live happy, healthy, active, and self-determined lives.

I want to integrate this purpose into my trip, and use my journey to share a meaningful story of disability throughout the regions I will be traveling, highlighting the strength, resilience, and humanity of disabled people, and what we can achieve when equal access and support are provided; but also display the struggles and challenges many disabled people face (especially in the developing world), and how far we still have to go to make a world where disabled people can fully live and flourish a reality. To build this story, I will partner with some amazing disability-focused organizations, and share their impactful work fighting for accessibility and inclusion, as well as providing life-affirming treatment and assistive technology to disabled people throughout Europe and Africa. I also hope to connect with and share the personal stories of people across the disability spectrum on my journey, exhibiting the unique experiences, struggles, and dreams of individuals living with different forms of disability in very different regions of the world. Together, I hope to share a story of the diverse perspectives, yet shared experience of living with disability throughout Europe and Africa, and advocate for the simple humanity of people living with disability, and their equal right to live the life they want to live.

I hope you are excited to follow my journey and listen to this story.