Q:
Tell us about your background.
A:
I’m the oldest of four children,
and I just turned 29. When I was 7, I
became a quadriplegic. I have very
minimal use of my hands and really
no use of my legs. I have what’s
known as transverse myelitis. It’s a
rare disorder that causes swelling
in the spinal cord. Instead of your
immune system fighting off the cause
of the swelling, it starts attacking
itself. The only thing preventing
me from physically functioning like
everyone else is that a two-millimeter
section of the myelin sheath in my
spinal cord is missing tissue where my
body attacked itself.
I want people to think about my
accomplishments first and disability
second. My disability is like a racial
identity to me. It’s just who I am.
Q:
You were a self-employed
graphic designer before
applying to law school. Why
make that transition?
A:
When I graduated with a
degree in graphic design from
the University of Missouri in 2007,
the economy was still good.
But systemically, people with
disabilities spend a lot of time
finding employment, and they’re
underemployed or unemployed
in greater numbers than the
general population.
I was applying for jobs and
getting interviews, but I wasn’t
getting second interviews. Then the
job crisis started, so I started picking
up freelance jobs. It was much easier
to convince people who already
knew me that I could design for them
than it was to convince people in an
interview that my disability wasn’t
going to be a barrier in employment.
That’s how my business started,
but it wasn’t paying the bills. I was
living at home, and my parents
were my primary caregivers. After
four years in college of living very
independently and managing my
own staff—I hired students in the
health care field to help with my daily
activities—I was dependent again.
That was really difficult.
It became obvious that the
assistance programs for people with
disabilities weren’t going to take me
where I wanted to go. I needed to be
a voice for those with disabilities.
Q:
Why Loyola?
A:
Loyola embraced who I am.
Administrators here are proactive
on many things, and they’re always
willing to change policies if needed
to accommodate me.
I remember my very first day,
sitting in my torts class with Dean
Nina Appel. I’d already met with
Associate Dean James Faught about
the classroom accommodations I
need, and we were waiting for a table
I could use in the classroom. So the
first couple of days I was without a
desk. Dean Appel came up to me
after class and said, “I just want you
to know we offer accommodations
to students with disabilities, and you
have the legal right to them in my
and other classrooms.”
That had never happened to me
before, where a professor said, “These
are your rights, and I’m willing to help
you.” And it happened on my first day
of law school.
Q:
Where do you plan to work
after graduation?
A:
Most of my experience is in
the public interest field. That’s my
passion. Whether that will financially
sustain me and my need for long-
term care is up in the air. I’ve started
to think the government is where I
might like to end up, doing policy or
enforcement work.
Q:
What do you do for fun?
A:
I’ve recently taken the ‘L.’ I’d lived
in the Chicago area my whole life and
never taken it because only about
65 percent of stations are accessible,
and that number drops significantly
when you consider things like
broken elevators. Now I’ve taken it
downtown, to street festivals, and to
explore neighborhoods. I also really
like cooking, listening to music—from
Nirvana to Benny Goodman—and
watching movies.
Q:
What would people be
surprised to learn about you?
A:
I like to go to reggae concerts. I
really like Toots and the Maytals, and
I’ve been to three of their concerts. It’s
just really chill music.
■
››
STUDENT PROFILE: REBECCA WYLIE
A voice for
people with
disabilities
Student sees the law as a path to
activism and advocacy
W
ho better to advocate for people with
disabilities than a lawyer with disabilities?
That’s the reasoning of Rebecca Wylie, a
third-year student planning to graduate with a law
degree and health law certificate in May 2015.
Wylie uses a wheelchair, writes with her mouth,
and wants to “be as normal as possible.” She’s learned
through personal experience that her calling is
advocating for society’s disadvantaged. “I know
what it’s like to not be able to afford health care,” she
explains. “I understand how yes, you have private
insurance, and yes, you have Medicaid, but you also
have out-of-pocket expenses. Challenges like that
affect lots of people, not just those with disabilities. I
can bring a disability perspective to these issues.”
Third-year student Rebecca Wylie is turning her own experiences into a career advocating for others.
FALL 2013
21
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LOYOLA LAW
