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“Reaching what I have


reached so far has been unfathomable. I can’t even express what a whirlwind it’s been. I’m 24 years old and just the fact that I’ve done these things and hope to continue, maybe teach somewhere at the university level, is all because of that scholarship. I remember sit ing at the dinner where my older sister received her Brehm and thinking, ‘Oh my God, I need to shoot for this.’ I’m so passionate about this. “My sister’s been my


obvious role model; she’s a middle school math and sci- ence teacher who received her master’s in learning disabilities. She was the 4.0 book-smart person. My brother was the hands-on learner. I think I took a piece from both of them that there’s more than one way to be smart or successful. It was almost like everyone has something that they’re good at; it’s about having someone foster that. My mom has also instilled in us to accept everybody. She always has pushed that with us. So now I’m working on my master’s here in autism spectrum disorders. I feel like autism is becoming so prevalent and people have this fear of it vs. what can we do about this. “I’ve never been afraid to


be around the people who are quote-unquote diff er- ent. Even in high school, I was always trying to be the advocate for people who are


20 Eastern | FALL 2011


diff erent. I wanted that feel- ing that I was helping peo- ple who needed someone to be there and be an ad- vocate. Without somebody to push for acceptance, no- body will, and then nothing


will change. It’s a human rights issue.”


C


hristie Routel re- turned to school to earn a master’s


at Eastern aſt er 10 years as


an administrator for social services agencies. She is now a PhD candidate at the Uni- versity of Toledo, an adjunct faculty member at Eastern, and is working on a book with Phil Smith, interim


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