STRUGGLING WITH SERENDIPITY
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new opportunity

10/24/2018

6 Comments

 
Picture
Back at Harvard for the start of Beth’s junior year, I carried her chair and other items up from the basement storage room. I set up her dorm room before I drove back to Tiffin. She changed her concentration from biology to health care policy with the goal of attending law school. Beth told a reporter about her DC summer and why she changed her major.
           
“I really fell in love with the policy side of things. After the internship, there was an opening in Senator Kerry’s Boston office to work specifically on disability issues with one of his staffers. They invited me to do that. So, throughout my entire school year I worked in his Boston office. It’s completely different, because it’s much more focused on his constituents. But I really loved that, because you get to talk to people on an individual basis.”  
           
Beth rode the T by herself from Harvard Square to the Senator’s office near the Massachusetts State House. One day a week, sometimes two. She stayed on the subway and passed the T stop closest to the Senator’s office to avoid a steep hill. She planned for extra time to wheel the additional distance back to the office, avoiding the inaccessible T stops. She signed up for text alerts to get advance notice when elevators broke down.
           
“When I answered phone calls, I recognized a desperation in their voices as they reached out to their Senator, who was all too often their last hope in solving their issues,” Beth said. “It was rewarding to resolve specific disability-related complaints, but some we could not help.”
 
She stayed in touch with Mary in the DC office and joined the Senator and staff for events, including a campaign rally at Boston’s Faneuil Hall for Deval Patrick, soon-to-be Governor of Massachusetts.
 
Coffee, Beth’s new habit, stoked long days of classes and homework, swim practice and meets, plus volunteering for KSNAP and Senator Kerry.           
 
Beth’s new major allowed her to create and follow an individualized program. She selected classes relating to health care, a wide field of study including economics, regulations, inequalities, public opinion, politics, quality control, and buzzwords like adverse selection and moral hazard. She looked forward to classes at two graduate schools.
           
“I explored health care policy and disability issues with courses at Harvard’s Kennedy School and Law School.” They were her favorite classes.
 
Next: A Big Decision!
6 Comments
Esther Merves
10/25/2018 08:57:17 am

Love reading about Beth's journey and her discoveries.

Reply
Cindy Kolbe
10/25/2018 08:14:15 pm

Thanks, Esther. It really was an amazing journey!

Reply
Jason Rhode link
10/27/2018 11:44:05 am

There ya go, Beth, it's always cool to talk to someone who lives the life instead of someone trying to "play" the part when we look for help with issues only some who lives the life will understand.

Reply
Cindy Kolbe link
10/27/2018 07:29:26 pm

I agree, Jason! People outside of the disability community often don’t understand.

Reply
Amy Henry link
10/30/2018 04:36:31 pm

So great that Beth got to work for John Kerry on disability issues. Kerry's a great guy. She was lucky to have the opportunity to work with him, and he was fortunate to have her expertise and commitment.

Reply
Cindy Kolbe link
10/30/2018 06:45:46 pm

Thanks, Amy! Yes, it was a wonderful opportunity. I wish he had been elected president!

Reply



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