RIC: My name is Ric Nelson
and I am from Anchorage, Alaska.
Throughout my life I was told “no,”
but I realized the word “no”
meant that I had to fight for what I want in life.
In the beginning of my life,
a nurse laid me facedown
and I died for four and a half minutes.
They told my parents that I would be a vegetable
for the rest of my life.
When I was fourteen and I started high school,
they asked me what I wanted to do
and I said, "I want to go to college."
And they laughed at me
and said, “You won’t graduate college!
"Why bother?
"Stay home and collect benefits.”
That was my real first "no."
I realized that I had to make something of myself.
I started a new high school and I said,
“I want to go to college.”
And they said, “Let us make that happen with you.”
So DVR is the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
They are a state organization that’s supposed
to help people with disabilities get employed.
DVR told me, “No, you won’t make it in college.”
And then I said, “Fine, then I’ll do it on my own.”
I graduated with a bachelors of business management
and my masters in public administration.
The Governor’s Council on Disabilities
and Special Education is a statewide council
that is mandated by the federal government
to have a developmental disability council in each state.
I am an employment program coordinator one.
I volunteered for eight years
and I was the second person ever
with a developmental disability to be chair.
My message for people with disabilities is
don’t ever give up.
When people put you down, fight for what you want.