Grand Valley State University student Stephanie Deible has been underestimated since birth. She was born with cerebral palsy and has been in a wheelchair her entire life, but those aren’t the only obstacles she overcame on her journey to being crowned Ms. Wheelchair Michigan on March 3.

Throughout her life, Deible has been passionate about advocating for people with disabilities, which is why she said winning the Ms. Wheelchair Michigan title is an exciting opportunity.

“I can’t wait to see where I can go from here and the amount of people that I can help,” she said.

The title involves traveling throughout Michigan advocating for people with disabilities by trying to break down stereotypes and barriers that are in everyday society, Deible said. “I want to encourage people with disabilities to overcome any obstacles they may face. At the same time, I’ll use this as a tool to educate society about disabilities and about being in a chair.”

In August, Deible will travel to Rhode Island to compete in the Ms. Wheelchair America pageant. Her platform in the competition focused on empowering youth with disabilities to set and achieve their goals.

“I chose this because I think that when you’re faced with obstacles, a lot of times you may want to give up,” she said. “Basically what I’m trying to do is spread the message that you can accomplish anything if you set your mind to it.”

Although she has encountered obstacles, Deible has worked in her own school system to make changes to help those with disabilities. She said one of the reasons she chose to go to GVSU was because she could get around campus easily and, if encountering any difficulties, the university was accommodating and quick to help.

However, Deible has worked hard all her life to gain independence.

“I just kept setting little goals and eventually I got to the point where I could function and do all these little personal needs like get dressed and care for myself on my own,” she said.

Weighing just over two pounds when she was born, at first it was uncertain if she would live very long. Growing up, doctors told her she would likely never have enough mobility or strength to be able to live on her own or go through school.

“I didn’t want to have to depend on other people for my entire life,” Deible said.

Cerebral palsy affects people in different ways. For Deible, her muscles are underdeveloped, which is why she is unable to walk. Over the years, she has had five different operations, two of which left her in a body cast from toes to bellybutton for two months. The purpose of the operations were to help her muscles to relax, because many people with cerebral palsy will often have muscle spasms, Deible said.

“I would say the biggest obstacle was trying to overcome the operations, of course, but also trying to get myself to gain enough strength and mobility to be able to live independently without a constant need for assistance from my family and other friends,” she said.

Deible’s accomplishments will hopefully serve as a source of inspiration for other people with disabilities, she said.

“When I look ahead and see the opportunities that are in front of me, the most important thing that I want to take away from this is being able to impact the lives of other people with disabilities so that they know that in life, of course obstacles are going to come up, but the important thing is to keep working at whatever you’re trying to do because you never know when an opportunity is going to be waiting on the other side,” Deible said.

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