Rosemary Montañez
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (KVIA)– In a packed room full of educators, 28-year-old Arcelia “Arcy” Mendoza gave a message of inspiration and encouragement. The Gadsden Independent School District recently welcomed the alumni to a special professional development session.
The 28-year-old graduated from Gadsden High School in 2016.
She was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 8 months old. A lack of oxygen during birth damaged the motor system of her brain.
Her condition affects her mobility and speech. Mendoza requires a power wheelchair to get around, but she has not allowed this disability to define her.
“My brain cannot control most of my body movements, but I still can learn to think and feel like any average person,” she said.
She also has to communicate differently. Mendoza has a communication device and an IPad in front of her at all times.
Mendoza uses her wheelchair’s joystick as a cursor to select the words on the screen that she wants, and then they’re spoken by the machine. She also used an IPad to stay in touch with her friends and family.
But Mendoza said she’s just a regular young adult who enjoys hanging out with friends.
She’s currently double-majoring at New Mexico State University in Journalism and Media Studies and Spanish.
“College has given me independence, courage, and confidence to feel more comfortable,” she explained.
Mendoza wants to become a bilingual disability journalist advocate. She wants to be a voice of change for others and promote inclusivity for all.
“My future goals as a journalist are to empower diverse abilities, put a spotlight on those with different abilities who are succeeding in their own way and raise awareness that disabilities aren’t impossibilities.”
During her visit to Gadsden ISD, Mendoza was able to catch up with some of her educators that she has known since she was a child.
Esmeralda Araujo, an occupational therapist at GISD, and Katrina Garza, a physical therapist at the district, said Mendoza’s determination has never wavered. It’s something they saw in her since a young age.
“Just light in her eyes, you know, fire in her eyes, like you knew that she needed a more robust system to communicate. She was going to be able to, you know, accomplish all the things that she’s accomplishing right now. You could see that in her at age three.”
Garza said Mendoza was always motivated to take on her next challenge.
“She embraced it instead of running from it. Just like with her motorized wheelchair, she had to learn how to use it. And then she brought it to school,” Garza said.
During pre-K, Mendoza was introduced to an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device by the GISD’s Special Education team.
If Mendoza was told she wouldn’t be able to do it, she always found a way.
“She didn’t; never had fear. If I said “Try this,” she’d try it. Even if I could tell it was really difficult for her,” said her former physical therapist.
During her teenage years, Mendoza struggled with her identity and accepting who she is. She said she was even depressed.
“Society indoctrinates us to think that being disabled is something abnormal and making us feel less than others. And as much as we try to belong and fit into what society considers normal, we simply cannot because we are different,” Mendoza said.
Now, she fully embraces who she is.
“I did not want to accept my disability as part of me. I did not want that part that made me different from the others, but little by little, I understood that this difference is what makes me original, unique, and authentic. My disability is part of me, but it does not define me.”
She has stayed connected with her educators at Gadsden ISD over the years.
“She’s taught me more than what I’ve taught her because she, she is a well-rounded person,” Garza said.
“I think I’ve learned a lot from her. One of the presentations, you know, she she challenges us to not think of individuals with a disability, but to think of them as a person with different abilities. Right? Even just the wording, the power that that word has. So always learning from her and learning from each other and staying connected,” Araujo added.
Mendoza hopes to continue sharing her story at workshops and conferences. She is expected to graduate from NMSU this December.
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