Unstoppable Forces

Mariel, a sports management major in the College of Health & Human Performance, would learn that she was suffering from viral meningitis and two strains of the flu. She was also diagnosed with Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA)—formerly known as Churg Strauss syndrome, a rare disorder marked by blood vessel inflammation.

The effects of the disorder vary from person to person. In Mariel’s case, she suffered three strokes in her brain and a fourth in her spine, resulting in paralysis, partial vision loss and difficulties with words and numbers. She was told it would be two years before she’d be able to return to UF, but a combination of her hard work and resources at the university meant that she was back on campus in less than one.

As part of her interview, she and her service dog, Molasses (Lassie for short), took podcast listeners on a tour of her accessible room in Cypress Hall. The residence hall, which opened in 2015, is part of the reason U.S. News & World Report ranks UF sixth nationally for inclusion of students with disabilities.

“Living in Cypress makes my daily life easier with the extent of its accessibility - the bathroom, the spacious room and the location on campus,” she shared. The university’s Disability Resource Center also gives Mariel, 22, the accommodations she needs to succeed in classes - without these services she wouldn’t have been able to return to school.

UF’s support of Mariel helped fuel her determination to return to campus and was a large part of what motivated her to become independent again. “I knew I wanted to go back to school and to my friends. I worked really hard to be admitted my freshman year, and I worked really hard to be well enough to return,” Mariel said.