Rebecca S. Williford

Rebecca Williford Jack Kent Cooke Foundation - Rebecca Williford
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Rebecca Williford
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During a two-month stay at a medical center where doctors devised a regimen to treat the chronic disorder of her autonomic nervous system, Rebecca Williford swapped stories with other patients. Then 18, she came away alarmed at the daunting job of "negotiating the realities of healthcare and disability systems" and decided to do what she could to understand and help fix the systems. She began agitating and educating campus leaders and other students. A pivotal moment came when snow blocked her dorm's wheelchair exit ramp, trapping her inside during a fire alarm. She called the UNC chancellor. He got the snow cleared. She was later named the only student member and wheelchair-user on the Disability Advisory Committee. She helped shape new access standards for campus buildings, elevators, and transportation.

As UNC student body secretary, Rebecca joined other leaders in lobbying legislators against a tuition hike. She also recruited the student body president to help persuade UNC officials to install automatic door-openers for restrooms in the new student union. And she found a way to show students why this matters, with a four-hour field test that let them confront the everyday challenges facing the disabled, from navigating a restroom without automatic doors to making photocopies in the library. She also ultimately graduated with the institution's highest academic honors.

In addition to her goal of making sure disability laws are enforced, Rebecca wants to establish a nonprofit center to increase educational options for people with disabilities - and to equip them with "self-advocacy training" as they seek an independent life.

Rebecca S. Williford is a native of Rocky Mount, NC and a law student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she is a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar and member of the First Amendment Law Review.An advocate for disability rights, she serves on the NC Statewide Independent Living Council and the National Association of Law Students with Disabilities.She graduated with highest honors and distinction from UNC in 2004 with a B.A. in Political Science.

Rebecca Williford

Rebecca Williford, a University of North Carolina School of Law student with dysautonomia, a chronic neurological and cardiovascular disorder, says she ... www.traveldailynews.com

Rebecca Williford, a University of North Carolina School of Law student with dysautonomia, a chronic neurological and cardiovascular disorder, says she ...

Rebecca Williford, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill