Features: May 13, 2002

Permanent Injury Does Not Deter Student

Stephen Horne's life changed forever one summer day in 1995 just before his sophomore year in high school.

	Thomas Griffin

The Glastonbury, Conn., native was on his way to a canoeing trip in Maine with 10 other friends. when the driver fell asleep at the wheel, all 11 passengers in the van were injured. Horne suffered the most with a broken back—two exploded vertebrae—and a severe concussion. His doctors told him he probably never would walk again.

But Horne will walk—yes, walk—across stage on May 18 to collect his degree from Rensselaer. Although at times his gait includes a severe limp and he suffers excruciating backaches, he says, the fact that he can work both legs at all is a miracle.

"I'm lucky," says Horne, whose spinal-cord injury is permanent and who still undergoes physical therapy. "I'm just happy to be walking around."

Horne, who will receive his bachelor's degree in computer science, has secured a job as a programmer for Microsoft in Seattle. The company is paying for a cross-country trip for Horne to visit major cities before he starts his job in mid-July.

Horne credits his success in part to Debra Hamilton, assistant dean for disabled student services in the Dean of Students Office. Hamilton, who uses a wheelchair, assisted Horne in dealing with the typical frustrations and difficulties that physically disabled students must endure while pursuing a rigorous college education away from home. She has been at Rensselaer since 1985.