Renewed passion and skills guiding DVR participant to career in sciences
DSHS’ Division of Vocational Rehabilitation is dedicated to offering tools, services, and support to help people with disabilities find meaningful work. Staff offer individualized vocational rehabilitation counseling, employment services and supports to people with disabilities who want to work but face substantial barriers in finding meaningful and sustained employment. Staff also provide technical assistance and training to businesses regarding the recruiting and hiring of people with disabilities. Here are some recent successes for DVR participants. The account below is from a current DSHS DVR participant, Roxanne McPeck.
I am lucky: I am doing what I love most, in a career I am suited to and in which I can make a difference, but my path here took some unexpected turns. As a teen in Spokane Valley, I loved learning and was good at school, especially writing. I had planned to get a college education in a humanities career, but while still young, I experienced chronic illness and became disabled, twice dropping out of college to deal with hardships. I lost both confidence and hope, and my world shrank until I found I couldn’t work. I found solace in an unusual hobby, reading everything I could find about disease-causing bacteria.
When a friend convinced me to try DVR, I wasn’t sure what to expect. My first counselor, Michael Fox, thoroughly explained what DVR could offer and encouraged me to consider completing my bachelor’s. We generated a list of potential jobs with interest and aptitude tests, nearly all of which were types of scientists, which I balked at. I couldn’t begin to imagine myself as a scientist, nor conjure any real mental picture of a disabled scientist beyond Stephen Hawking. I told Michael I liked science but pointed out the one outlier on the list, stating that as a scientific technical writer, I could work with the scientists whose world felt closed off to me.
My DVR plan provided support for educational costs of finishing my bachelor’s degree and relevant counseling and accommodations. I returned to Eastern Washington University in Cheney and declared a Biology major and a Technical Communication minor. I was fortunate to find a wonderful advisor, who remains one of my greatest allies. As I eased back into school, going part-time as first, I began to feel a missing piece of myself fill back in. I found it easier to take chances and pursue my interests. I did excellently in my Technical Communication courses, but my Biology courses surprised me: I adored biology, I loved microbiology, and I LOVED doing experiments at the bench and thinking hard about scientific research.
I also took chances on research and paper-writing opportunities and started developing my career. In my final year, I cautiously broached the idea of completing a master’s degree at EWU. Both my advisor and my DVR counselors were supportive since returning to school had restored and energized me. I received permission to join a lab studying the genetics of bacterial pathogens. I was accepted to EWU’s Biology graduate program, with a tuition waiver and a part-time teaching assistantship.
I graduated cum laude in December 2021; that following June, I walked at commencement with my cane, but also laden with large medals for Biology Outstanding Senior and the university’s top honor, the Frances B. Huston medallion. I had achieved so much, found mentors, and even made friends. I felt more secure, hopeful, and capable. This was a wonderful milestone, but nowhere near the end of my story.
During my master’s, I gained confidence and autonomy and began to assume the role of researcher instead of just student. While working part-time as a TA, I attended class full-time and progressed my research. I had become incredibly busy, and I encountered not only disability challenges but unexpected hardships. However, I had grown in strength and resilience and was able to stick to my plans, earning distinction and recognition from the faculty and among my peers.
I grew into leadership roles, and I found teaching extremely fulfilling, especially when I got to see students surprise themselves with their own accomplishment. I also had an opportunity to recruit and mentor a talented undergraduate to be my research assistant. She now works as a lab scientist after graduating with honors. I became aware that other students from marginalized populations had a hard time envisioning themselves in STEM, just like I had at first. I wanted to create space for my students and peers to pursue their dream careers. I served on DEI initiatives and led a team that obtained funding from the EWU Board of Trustees to put on a seminar series that encouraged students to see themselves in speakers who role modeled a life as a talented and underrepresented scientist. I had developed a passion for promoting a culture of inclusion and a meaningful sense of belonging in all who wanted to participate in these spaces and careers.
During my two degrees at EWU, I built a competitive curriculum vitae: strong academics, seven talks and six posters presented, three grants, three scholarships, and three awards (the final one being EWU Biology’s Outstanding Graduate Student). I defended my thesis research to a packed auditorium of professors, peers, and allies, presenting new data on genetic regulation in the bacteria I studied. My advisor and I are currently preparing a manuscript for publication, meaning someday soon students might be citing McPeck, et al.! For these efforts, I was conferred a Master of Science in Biology in June 2024.
Teaching and mentoring were the most fulfilling parts of my master’s degree. My experiences with students and DEI initiatives also helped me see the potential of a career as a university professor, but this would require a PhD in Microbiology, which would require earning a spot in a competitive program, completing five years of intense study, and further training as a postdoctoral researcher, but I was determined. In the final year of my master’s, I earned three offers to join Microbiology programs at the University of California Davis, the University of Oregon, and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. I accepted the offer from CU Anschutz in Aurora, Colorado (near Denver), where I am writing this now!
I have had multiple counselors at DVR over the years, and each has been a strong advocate for me. DVR paid for my undergraduate tuition, supported other educational expenses during my master’s, provided support when I interfaced with the university, and helped me access other accommodations and resources I needed to successfully complete my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Now I am studying in a nationally-ranked PhD program, well on my way to a successful and fulfilling career as a bacteriologist and university professor. While continuing to teach and mentor students, including those who are underrepresented in science, I hope to advance the study of how bacteria cause human disease, promoting better health and quality of life for humanity and increased understanding of our microscopic partners and predators.
DVR’s support helped me return to work, yes, but most importantly to me, it empowered me to build greater independence and quality of life. Thanks to this, I now support myself through my program’s compensation in exchange for my highly-skilled and useful work. I earned two degrees and am well on my way to my PhD, with a promising career ahead of me. I wake up excited to get into the lab every day, despite still managing my disability challenges. I expect to earn my PhD in Microbiology in 2029, but I now believe not only in my aptitude but my ability to undertake challenging endeavors and impactful work.
I have come a long way since timidly taking aptitude tests in Michael’s office and balking at the idea that I — me! — could ever be a scientist. Now I can’t imagine not being one. I entered DVR full of doubts and suffering from stigma and a lack of access (including role models). Now I have learned to be a role model, and I have become my own advocate. Most importantly, this journey took my very circumscribed life and threw open the doors, expanding my world to independence, self-confidence, satisfaction, and contribution. With DVR’s help, I have kicked down many doors, and now I intend to hold them open for the next people to follow.
