My predecessor to the Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts title is a woman named Autumn Grant, who was crowned Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts 2006. She went on to become Ms. Wheelchair America 2007. Autumn was born, raised and continues to live in Attleboro. She's a graduate of Attleboro High School and received a BA from Providence College, graduating summa cum laude and with the Directors Award for Excellence in the Humanities in 1996. She received a MA in Higher Education Administration from Boston College in 2000. She currently serves as the Director of the Center for Academic Achievement at Stonehill College.
As Ms. Wheelchair America 2007, Autumn has promoted her platform “Independence through Education”. In her own words, she believes, “The statistics regarding women with disabilities with college degrees, full time employment and those living below the poverty level are startling.” Autumn feels that education is the first step towards obtaining independence and has spent her year working to eliminate barriers keeping people with disabilities from becoming involved in post secondary education. She has demonstrated that “Independence through Education” is possible by sharing her own personal story with those she meets.
Autumn is a wonderful role model of an educated, independent, disabled American woman. She will be passing on her "Ms. Wheelchair America" crown to the 2008 winner this July in Washington DC. Let's hope the next winner will serve us as well as she has!
Check out Autumn's blog at:
autumnblue74.blogspot.com
