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Nicole Nation: A Champion for Persons with Disabilities - as published by Teen Spirit eZine

Posted by Maia Chung on July 21, 2011 at 1:14am
Nicole Nation: A Champion for Persons with DisabilitiesBy Alana GardnerWe have seven national heroes, but there are new champions arising everyday in our society; people just like you, who have dedicated their lives to helping others. Eighteen year old Nicole Nation is one of those individuals committed to making a contribution to society. She is the overall winner of the inaugural Autism and Disabilities Ambassadors competition, one of the main efforts of The Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation (mcadf), which seeks to heighten awareness about people living with Autism and other disabilities. When Nicole was faced with the possibility of being disabled some time ago, she made it her mission to bring awareness to those living with disabilities and the difficulties they face. With the drive to leave her mark on this world, Nicole has written many letters and poems that have been published in The Jamaica Observer and the The Sunday Gleaner. She has also organised an awareness display at her school and has planned fundraisers, which have raised hundreds of dollars.“When I am dead and gone, who will remember me, or what I have done? Yet, we are all just travelers in this world, we all just have to do the time and leave, we don’t get to stay,” said the 18 year old graduate from the Montego Bay Community College and prospective student of the University of the West Indies. “Therefore, if it is that I will one day die, what will my legacy be like, what would I have done for Jamaica, for the human race in general?”Nicole has aspirations to become an Ophthalmologist and has been an active volunteer at institutions that are dedicated to delivering excellent service to those who are disabled, including the Catherine Hall Primary School in the Special Education Department, Montego Bay Learning Centre as well as the mcadf, where she won the ambassadors competition.Nicole says she was thrilled to have been selected winner of the competition. “I was elated to tell you the truth. For me, it was just another forum to advocate for those who otherwise cannot do so for themselves,” Nicole explains.Her win with the mcadf isn’t the only achievement she’s gained. Recently at her valedictory service, Nicole received two awards; outstanding leadership award for her school’s Sign language Club, of which she is the public Relations Officer, and the Kiwanis Award for outstanding community service. This award acknowledged the work that she has done with organisations such as the Cornwall Regional Hospital, Food for the Poor, Brenda Strafford Medical Center, among others.Nicole is very active in community development, effectively balancing school and volunteer work. She has made her work with charities a top priority, while still enjoying other interests such as listening to music and reading.“I was the president of the Montego Bay Community College Book Club. I used this as an avenue to express my love for books and how they can allow you to go so many places, to find out so many things, without ever actually leaving where you are,” Nicole, who admits to being a former tv addict says.Her experience with almost being blind has influenced her decision to help those not as fortunate as her and encourages others to do the same.“Young people are young, they are fresh, and they are just bursting with energy, so they have the power, they have time on their hands, and they must make use of this fact. They have to seize the moment; they have to be the catalysts for change,” Nicole advises teens. “What I want every Jamaican, every human being to do is just to do something. It makes no sense we become preoccupied with our own selfish concerns and expect the world to become a better place; we have to be the change that we want to see.”
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