‘I want to talk about cerebral palsy’: EPCC freshman hopes classmates see past her wheelchair

A young woman with big dreams graduated from high school last spring with a desire to continue her education at El Paso Community College. Her first semester went well academically, but her main disappointment was the social isolation she felt.

To Monica Rodriguez, her observation was more a statement than a complaint.

Monica, who has cerebral palsy, got around EPCC’s Transmountain Campus in an electric wheelchair and talked through a Tobii Dynavox speech generating device.

Her plan for the spring semester is to ace her classes – Public Speaking and Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences – and to work harder to make friends.

Monica, 18, understands that the devices she uses might be off-putting to other students initially, but those who work with her in class quickly discover that she can offer keen observations and a wry sense of humor.

“The hardest adjustment I had to college was the lack of friends I had during the semester,” Monica wrote during an email interview a few days after her last class. “I’m a very sociable person with people that I know well, but I didn’t get to know other people (at college) as much as I would have liked.”

While the multidisciplinary studies major saw the past semester as a growth opportunity, a recent national study showed that loneliness is a factor that can negatively affect college students.

A survey on college students’ mental health published in Inside Higher Ed last February found that successful students often had healthy habits: They ate well, got enough sleep and socialized. Students who struggled dealt with more stress and loneliness, the 2023 survey by the College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition and the Hi, How Are You Project found. The survey involved almost 30,000 students. 

The solution for students such as Monica is to initiate more contact with peers, staff and faculty, said Lolo Mercado, an EPCC counselor at the Transmountain Campus.

“Sometimes you have to force yourself to be part of campus,” Mercado said.

The counselor said some students go from the parking lot to the classroom to the parking lot. Many times this is due to jobs and family responsibilities, but he tries to impress on students that campus involvement leads to retention and graduation.

He encourages students to introduce flex time into their class schedules to allow them to visit campus services and programs such as the library, student clubs, campus activities, tutoring centers, the financial aid office and the police department.

Mercado said that he knows that people with disabilities could feel ignored by their peers, and that the recent pandemic made some students less interested in interactions.

Monica said that she found it harder to connect with her classmates because they did not share her personal interests such as reading, texting family and friends through Facebook Messenger and Instagram, and her Avon business.

While initially shy in class, Monica quickly became an eager participant, said Vanessa Rojas, an academic resource specialist in the Transmountain Campus’ Center for Students with Disabilities. She was Monica’s note taker in her Composition I class.

“Monica was not afraid to work in groups, go over (classmate’s) essays, and offer ways to improve them,” Rojas said. “Students were initially hesitant to work with her, but the process helped them get familiar with her. She can be very funny.”  

Because of the transition from high school, Monica and her parents agreed that she should take only one class. She got an “A” in her course, but did not feel challenged academically. Her final was a three-page research paper about one of her passions: children affected by food insecurity.

While happy with the good grade, she missed the pace and camaraderie from her days at the Young Women’s STEAM Research & Preparatory Academy, an El Paso Independent School District campus. She went from eight classes per day five days a week to one class for a few hours three days a week.

She said a bright spot was being accompanied by her older sister, Lucy, who helped where necessary academically and personally. It helped her feel less isolated and more confident.  

“A lot of people just see (Monica’s) chair,” said Heather Rodriguez, Monica’s mother. She said her family may have been overly cautious with the transition, but expects the spring semester to be a bigger challenge. “Monica was bored because we underestimated her in what she could do and how independent she could be.”

The mother said Monica thought college was going to be a social extension of high school. The reality saddened her.