Geology Major

I declared my geology major a few weeks ago, gaining myself the coveted code to the geo computer lab and 24 hour access to the science building. Those, are the minor things that are nice to have, free printing, a nice computer lab that isn't packed.

However, let me tell you, a geology major was not necessarily destined for someone who's in a wheelchair.  I don't mind falling over or getting piggy backed, but in reality those aren't going to be effective means of working in the future, and thus, making geology more accessible has now become the task at hand. With this, I keep the Academic Resource Center at my school on their toes, and I am so grateful that they don't mind all the challenges I put in front of them and that they are capable of thinking outside of the box.

When you google the internet for off-road wheelchair, what will most likely come up is this electric wheelchair that has army tank like wheels and essentially will cost you as much as a new car. Personally, this is not something I would want to rely on, and it isn't something my school would want to pay for. So, back to the drawing board.

One thing we rely heavily on is technology. Currently in the field, we use a two way computer connection on Mac Computers through iChat to set up a video feed from a TA in the field, to me as close to the feature that I can get. The problems that this creates, are some we are trying to solve soon as they will pose issues in the spring semester. Battery life is not as long as we need to rely on. For a three or four day field trip, a computer won't last, so we need to either find a mobile charger or bring multiple spare batteries. There's the glare issues on the screen. Often I'm sitting in direct sunlight, and no matter how much I dim the screen, I still find myself twisting in odd positions to try and get a good visual of the screen.

Recently we've started exploring front wheel options, intended to make a manual chair slightly more of an all terrain vehicle. At worst, hopefully it will keep me from catapulting forwards out of my chair. Best case scenario, this could be the solution we were looking for.

While there are a lot of complication with me being a Geology major, I have no doubts we'll eventually solve the problems and dial in a system that works for me. Am I the only person in a wheelchair who's ever wanted to be a geology major? I love the outdoors, and the idea of sitting inside all day isn't for me, when we've got such a great world outside. Mother nature may not choose to make herself wheelchair accessible, but together we'll get around that.