THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 25, 1995 TAG: 9505240162
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Now that she has earned an associate degree, Carolyn M. Bess is ready for the next step in her life.
A paraplegic since childhood, Bess has never allowed disability to hold her back. ``I know what I can't do,'' she said. ``My legs may not work, but there's nothing wrong with my mind. As long as your mind works, you can do something.''
Independent and determined to succeed, Bess, 43, recently received an associate degree in office systems technology, with a specialty in word/information processing, from Paul D. Camp Community College.
She plans to return to college, complete two courses in shorthand and earn a second associate degree in office systems technology, specializing as executive secretary.
Although Bess learned to walk with leg braces years ago, she prefers the mobility of a wheelchair. The braces ``slow you down,'' she said, smiling.
In 1959, 8-year-old Bess was on her way to the grocery store when she was struck by a car. One of 10 children, she lived with her godmother.
Hospitalized for three years with spinal injuries, Bess was a homebound student when she was finally transferred to a rehabilitation center in Charlottesville.
``I learned to get from a chair to the bed, and from the bed to a chair,'' she said. ``They taught me how to take care of myself. When I was a teen, I got into `Why me?' but then, I figured . . . I'm me. I can do what I want.''
When Bess returned to Suffolk at age 12, extenuating family circumstances prompted Social Services to place her with three foster families over the next few years. After attending John F. Kennedy High School, she was transferred as a sophomore to Woodrow Wilson High in Portsmouth to learn the dressmaking trade.
From age 17 to 30, Bess lived with foster parents, James and Marie Arrington. She placed a small sign advertising her skills at the end of the family driveway and for the next few years, worked as a dressmaker and did alterations for a cleaning establishment. Bess, however, believed that she was capable of more.
``I had learned just a trade, and I wasn't satisfied,'' Bess said. ``The majority of the people in my church pushed me. They're like family.''
A member of the Greater Sweet Beulah Apostolic Church, Bess is the church secretary, sings in three choirs, serves as president of one of the choirs, and and helps usher at services.
When Bess was 30, she decided to move into a handicap-accessible apartment, although several friends advised against it.
``They told me I wouldn't be able,'' she said. ``Don't ever tell me that. If you do, I've got to go see. Now, I live alone and like it. I cook, clean and wash clothes.''
Bess enrolled in adult basic education classes at John F. Kennedy and received her GED in April, 1992. The following September, she took a placement test and entered Paul D. Camp Community College.
When transportation proved to be a problem, friends presented her with a handicap-accessible car, and Bess went back to Woodrow Wilson High to learn to drive.
At Paul D. Camp, Bess worked 10 hours weekly as a peer partner with Student Support Services and served as vice president of the Student Council. Since fishing is a favorite pastime, she also signed up for a saltwater fishing class.
``It bothers me to see somebody not trying,'' Bess said. ``I tell everybody they'll think they can do it too.
``At one time, I didn't like me,'' she said, with a smile,``but now, I thank God for who I am, because I'm somebody special.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
``My legs may not work, but there's nothing wrong with my mind,''
says Carolyn M. Bess, a paraplegic.
by CNB