To raise awareness about disability, Choate hosted two special guests, twelve-year-old local cellist Ms. Emily Reid and Choate alumni Dr. Allison Kessler Vear ’03, during an all-school meeting on November 15. The event was primarily planned and organized by Ryan Kim ’23, who worked closely with Dean of Students Mr. Mike Velez ’00, Associate for Alumni Engagement and Development and Sixth-form Dean Mr. Will Gilyard ’98, Instrumental Ensembles Director Mr. Gene Wie, and Sixth-form Dean Dr. Katie Jewett.
The gathering began as many all-school meetings do, with a musical performance. Reid, who happens to play with a prosthetic developed by Yale e-Nable students, played a compilation of themes from Star Trek accompanied by a group of Choate students. According to Mr. Wie, he chose to play music from Star Trek because it “was a show that was introducing concepts like multiculturalism and ideas that people at the time probably found challenging.”
The performance culminated in a special presentation of a new version of the ‘cello arm,’ designed by Kim and Junho Lee ’24, and continued with guest speaker Dr. Vear and the introduction of the Barrier-Free Choate Initiative. Dr. Vear, Section Chief of Spinal Cord Injury at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab and Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, spoke about her experience as a student with a disability at Choate.
During her fourth-form year, Dr. Vear was paralyzed in a skiing accident, which led to her requirement for a wheelchair. She shared her thoughts on discrimination that people with disabilities face and offered advice to the community on how to be better allies.
Dr. Vear was initially hesitant about speaking to the community because she did not want her experiences to be objectified to benefit or gratify the able-bodied. However, according to Mr. Gilyard, “After she understood that we wanted her to share her full truth about her story and her experience, then she was all in because it would include the good, the bad, and the ugly, which will help us grow as a community.”
Dr. Vear spoke freely about feeling isolated upon her return to campus, the lack of inclusivity in certain Choate facilities and practices, finding a new community within the crew team, and her journey to her current profession.
Students reflected on Dr. Vear’s honesty and the educational value behind her talk. “I loved how engaging and genuine she was as a speaker. I think her message is really important, especially what she said about ‘disability porn’, and it has given me a lot to think about,” said Joshua Ramon ’24.
Selam Olsen ’24, added, “I also liked how she didn’t shy away from calling out the School and her old friends about how they hurt her after the accident.”
Mr. Gilyard added, “I was struck by the number of students who in the subsequent days shared their stories about supporting a family member with a disability or their best friend and how happy they were that Choate would create space for this talk and ad hoc conversations that ensued.”
To conclude her speech, Dr. Vear left the community with an important message: “Your leadership not only asked me to come back to talk to you guys today, I was given permission to say, ‘Look around. Maybe Choate should do better.’ That is really powerful for a community to say we’re not perfect, but we’re willing to work and we’re willing to change.”
Born without a left forearm and hand, Reid’s new ‘cello arm’, adapted from Yale e-Nable’s original design, features two additional degrees of freedom, which allows Reid to play with more flexibility and control. Kim and Lee used computer-aided design (CAD) software and 3D printing to incorporate their improvements.
Although it was Lee’s first time working on a project like this, he particularly enjoyed the design process and watching Emily perform on stage. He said, “If I get a chance to work on something like this in the future, I would make it more user-friendly and work more with the person I’m making the device for so that I can better meet their needs.”
Both Emily and Dr. Vear inspired the community to continue working toward creating a more inclusive, safe, and friendly environment for people with disabilities.
“If we can continue to create spaces and a community that invites all students into the tent, then we are on the right side of history. It was important because we do know that we need to make shifts (which I love about this school), and this keeps that conversation in the forefront of the decision-maker’s mind,” noted Mr. Gilyard.
Photo by Ramsey Scott ’23/The Choate News
