I am a Scottish woman who has Cerebral Palsy which has resulted in walking difficulties along with a speech and hearing impairment and manual dexterity problems. I epitomise drive, motivation, and passion. With a vision to turn my life around, my self-leadership journey has made me the person I am today. Along the way, it has been key people in my life that have been instrumental to my success. I have a PhD; two Masters, and a Bachelor of Honours in Information Technology. I was fortunate and able to manage my academic success parallel to my life adventures with exhilarating recreational opportunities with the Tall Ship voyages”. Fulfilling my career aspirations and supporting community engagements, I’ve led an incredible active life.
xIn 2017, I had my life laid out in front of me following my PhD Graduation. I was excited and looking forward to commencing my career, wherever it took me. However, not long after the celebrations in July that year, my life change drastically after a traumatic accident. It completely locked my body further with the underlying existing impairments of Cerebral Palsy. My body was literally on fire all the time. Even in the three months before the accident, I was up scaling Ben Lomond with my able bodied male friend in the Spring of that year. That how active I was and then my physical agility went in a flash! Little did I know, climbing back up to retain my drive motivation and passion and resume life in the fast lane would test my resilience further. The weekly rehabilitation sessions with my fabulous physiotherapist, Audrey was intense and painful at times, but I started to regain strength and became the ‘Jules’ I once was. I loved being able to laugh again. I owe it to Audrey who understood what I could do before the accident and helped me climb back up to get my life back.
I have led a very independent life with the use of assistive technologies. The traumatic accident changed my outlook in life. It has taught me the basic necessity about accessibility. Society still has a long way to go to be accessible whether it is physical, social, and digital presence. While my mobility was restricted and rehabilitation was a priority, I undertook a Master in Law (LLM) through Open University. As well as having a personal understanding of disability and equality-related issues, I knew having background in a legal discipline would assist me wherever life takes me.
I’m looking forward to a new chapter in my life and can’t wait to see where my drive, motivation and passion will take me next!
