HOF 2007 Nominees > Disability Educator
ShareMichelle White
Michelle White has a Masters Degree in Special Education and is a third-grade teacher at Ebenezer Elementary School. Shelly's life was radically changed in September 2001 when she had an accident in a powered parachute, resulting in a C-5 spinal cord injury.
Shelly has worked tirelessly to gain her independence, and continues to teach at her school. She inspires everyone she meets, proving that a disability isn’t necessarily a hinderance that you can’t overcome, and that it is OK to be different than others.
This is what she writes about in her children's book "New Opportunities," a true account of her life experience through the eyes of a porcupine called "Spiney." Shelly has used the book as a springboard for speaking engagements at local schools and before other groups. Shelly is a dynamic and talented person who caught the attention of a local TV Station which highlighted her on one of their programs. Shelly always looks for ways to improve the quality of life for others with a spinal cord injury.
This past year Shelly spoke at Penn State University for the Regional Symposium on Health Care and Quality of Life. Her topic was Spinal Cord Injury Support Group Connects to Newly Injured People. Her talk highlighted the new web site www.centralpasci.com which she developed and currently manages.
This is a way for our local spinal cord injury support group to connect with others, get information, link to other sites or just share stories. Shelly has also been the leader for our Peer Mentor Program by helping to develop and organize the material to educate new mentors. She volunteers many hours each month for several new spinal cord injured people and is active in our monthly Support Group.
She welcomes people to the support group and generates a lot of ideas for identifying speakers and hosting summer picnics. Our group was nominated as Support Group of the year by United Way, and Shelly’s efforts contributed to the group’s success. Her latest endeavor is to be part of a research project at Penn State University to test a piece of equipment that will improve hand function for quadriplegics.