by Brad Duncan
Each year the University of Kentucky Disability Resource Center honors a student with a disability who has been an inspiration to his or her peers and the campus community. For 2011, the Carol S. Adelstein Outstanding Student Award was given to Veronica Umeasiegbu, a doctoral student in the UK College of Education.
“It is a beautiful shock for me to be selected to receive the Adelstein Award,” Umeasiegbu said. “For me, it is a celebration of the courage of girls, boys, women and men who face the challenges of disability everyday.”
Umeasiegbu, who is working toward her doctorate in the Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling (EDSRC), was nominated by faculty members for her excellence in academics, leadership, extracurricular activities, and social and personal qualities.
“It is difficult to condense the many reasons that Veronica is worthy of this notable recognition,” said Malachy Bishop, EDSRC professor and coordinator of the rehabilitation counseling doctoral program. “In her brief career as a doctoral student she has consistently impressed faculty with her passion and commitment to the profession; her intellectual and professional development; her research, investigative and problem-solving abilities; and her enthusiasm for her role in the profession. This enthusiasm, which she shares so effectively with her fellow students, has made her a natural leader among her peers.”