Living With Disabilities, High School Dropout Earns His Bachelor s And That s Just The Beginning

Robert Shuemak wants to change perceptions of people with disabilities. He’ll be back at the University of Cincinnati this fall to begin work on his master’s degree.

35-year-old Robert Shuemak says he “had an attitude” when he first came to UC five years ago. Frustrated with navigating the educational system with sight and mobility challenges, he had dropped out of high school, but then studied two years for his GED, determined to earn a bachelor’s degree.

“I came here with a pretty bad attitude as far as demanding ‘I need this’ and ‘I need that,’ he says. “I’d say if you asked some of my friends in UC’s Disability Services what I was like when I started here, they’d probably say I was pretty cocky. Now, they’d probably tell you that I’m one of their biggest success stories.”

Shuemak, who was born with optic nerve atrophy, a condition that left him legally blind, and periphial myopothy ataxia, a painful condition that limits his ability to walk, is celebrating the achievement of his bachelor’s degree in social work and will enter UC’s master’s program in the School of Social Work this fall. His career goals are aimed at what turned his life around at UC – working in an office that assists college students with disabilities.

“I think experiencing success is what turned him around. He did not believe he could do it,” says Debra Merchant, director of UC Disability Services. “Once he was willing to work with us and trust that using accommodations and other support services was leading somewhere, I think that was the turnaround.”

Merchant says part of that success came through demonstrating to Shuemak how to become more independent, such as using voice-activated and screen-reading computer software for his assignments.

Shuemak says that his professors also added to his success by providing alternative formats for assignments. “If a handout would be in print, they would offer to e-mail it to me so that my computer would read it to me. My first year here, Disability Services mapped out a route to my classes and provided a guide to help me find my classes. It only took one time to know the route.”

With success came confidence, and a new mission for Shuemak. He wanted to raise awareness for students with disabilities. As a result, he served as president of “Don’t Assume, Just Ask,” a student association that’s sponsored by Disability Services. He has served as a motivational speaker, demonstrating to disabled high school students that college is not out of reach for them.

“People say, ‘I admire you for what you’re doing,’” Shuemak says, “but if you didn’t have challenges, life would be boring.

“I’ve been recruiting visually impaired people to come to UC. This is an awesome campus.”

Shuemak will be attending the morning Commencement ceremonies on June 10, chuckling that among all the caps and gowns, he’ll be easy to spot – he’s the graduate riding the motorized scooter, due to his limited walking ability. He is also attending the School of Social Work graduation celebration Saturday, June 11, at 2 p.m. in Corbett Auditorium, and will attend a family celebration from 3:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday at the UC Faculty Club. “I’ve come this far, I’m celebrating it all,” he says. Then, he’ll be back at UC in the fall to show fellow students with disabilities that with the commitment, it’s all possible.