Disability is not the first thing to come to mind when one thinks of diversity. However, “ability is one of our social identifiers,” Director of Diversity and Inclusion Walidah Justice explained.
The Upper School wa
s first introduced to the story of Nicholas Gaynor, a Villanova student with cerebral palsy, during Chapel on Thursday on November 19th, 2015. The student body and faculty watched a 30 minute short film called Coming Off the Disabled List which featured the story of Gaynor and another student called Frank Kineavy who also has cerebral palsy. The film highlighted the warmth of the Villanova community, the team behind these two students, and even their love for basketball with both Gaynor and Kineavy as managers of Villanova’s Men and Women basketball teams respectively.
This morning, on November 23, 2015, Nick Gaynor, his therapy advisor Greg Hannah, and his father Michael Gaynor who is also Director of University Admission at Villanova University visited and talked to the Episcopal Academy’s Upper School about disability awareness and Nick’s story in Chapel.
“It’s been one heck of a ride,” Nick Gaynor told the Upper School.
Greg Hannah talked for the majority of the service and stressed the importance of disability awareness and how that importance is recognized at Villanova. Hannah started off by asking how everyone was doing, a question that was followed with the same mellow tone of “good”. He continued to say that “if someone asks Nick how he’s doing” he would respond with unexpected enthusiasm. He elaborated more on this unexpectedness throughout his chapel talk.
Hannah proceeded to ask a series of questions that EA students and faculty raised their hands to such as “Do you know someone who has a disability? How many of you know this person personally?” It was to no surprise that many people put their hands down after that second question, but Hannah explained why by saying “there hasn’t been enough time or exposure for you to get involved.”
Hannah then elaborated on LEVEL, a student run organization that aims to bridge the gap between disabled students. When Gaynor and Kineavy first arrived to Villanova’s Office of Disability Services, there were only two adults interacting with them. However, over time this student organization “grabbed the attention outside of Villanova” for providing an “access to hearts and lives.” In fact, Johnson & Johnson awarded 5,000 to LEVEL for promoting disability awareness in 2014.
“It’s a big student group,” Nick Gaynor voiced, “What I like most about LEVEL is that we’re all here for the same experience and in a couple of years, I hope to leave Villanova better than I found it.”
On the other hand, however, people involved with this organization such as his therapy advisor Greg Hannah and other students help Nick so that he “has all the tools he needs to be successful” such as by helping him not just with tutoring but also writing.
Hannah said that everyone is looking to build memories and that “it is [his] job for anyone who comes to my office with a disability or not can build these memories.” According to Hannah, there was a “pulse change at Villanova”, because people were “actually getting to know what Nick’s about.”
“When I first started LEVEL, I thought I was at a great school with great values,” Gaynor explained, “The friends I made will stay with me for life…without any question.”
The attention was then transferred fully to Gaynor who touched upon the many opportunities he was able to pursue with LEVEL.
“I’ve gone to the basketball team, to Stanford, and other cool places. I’ve gone on 3 consecutive retreats [and] a couple of Phillies games,” Gaynor listed. He then motioned towards Hannah and said, “Without this guy, none of this will be possible.”
Hannah responded by saying, “Well, without you my job wouldn’t be possible.”
“That’s right,” Gaynor coyly remarked, instigating a laugh from the crowd.
________________________________________________________________
Questions and Response
Q: How did Prom work out?
Gaynor: “I ended up going with a graduate from my high school who played lacrosse at Stanford.”
Q: What next?
Gaynor: “I’m hopeful. One of two options. Hollywood…change that platform with my personality and I hope to change that because it needs a change. [Or] be a wildcat for life! I have a great family and a support group. I can guarantee that if you go to another school you can’t find one like this. I owe my life to this university.”
Q: How has your perspective changed of Villanova through your son’s experience? (For Michael Gaynor)
Michael Gaynor: “I used to be ‘Michael’. But now it’s: ‘Aren’t you Nick’s Dad?’ I got to know the ethos of Villanova. I used to be involved with disabled students before Nick came into my life. I learned to spread the word to end the word.” (Mr. Gaynor proceeded to encourage students to rethink their word usage that may be offensive to others)