Temple University cherry "T" logo

Institute on Disabilities

Search Keywords

Visionary Voices: Janet Evans Ch 6

Chapter Transcript

Chapter 6: Reflections on Life, Career

15:32:19:05 - 15:33:47:10

Lisa: Janet, when you look back on your life what gives you the most sense of pride? What are you proudest of? What has been your greatest accomplishment, do you think?

Janet: I lived my life the way it was supposed to be lived. I told people I was gonna' get out of the institution but I realize also that they were meant for me to learn how to live with people and to enjoy life. And I look back on my life is, it wasn't a bad life like people thought, they thought I struggled. I didn't struggle. I was, showed them I needed a wheelchair or when I was going to school I needed a motorized chair and when I wanted to go to the store or anything I wanted to do I needed a lift and all you have to do is ask, come up with a solution, work with people who have the money and guess what, you've got everything you need, so.

15:33:48:00 - 15:34:19:05

Lisa: Janet, those are all the questions I have for you today but is there anything that you would like to add?

Janet: Not really 'cause I'm hoping this is a good history of someone's life and how she looks at it as a positive and not a negative and that's the way I was brought up, to be a positive person. So thank you.

Lisa: Thank you.

15:34:34:00 - 15:37:18:15

Lisa: Janet, you're a very established self-advocate. Have you been recognized for your work in self-advocacy?

Janet: Yes. Okay, it started in, um, it started, I think, '78 when I won the Rival of the Year Award and then back in, sometime in the early '90s I won the Advocate Award for UCP (United Cerebral Palsy) and then in '09 I won the TRCIL Award and then, I forgot what it was, I'll come back to that but recently I won, I won the Service Award from United Cerebral Palsy now CLASS called the Service Award, Co-, Eugene Cohen and Frank Bolden Service Award. There's another word but I can't pronounce it but I'm real proud of that. Um, Georgian has it on her camera, what it is, is a cherry wood plaque with a big gold clock here and then they, for the award they, the award was for and my name in gold letters and the year I won it. And to me that was real special. You know, I think of my life as normal and I've done everything I was asked to do for it because I'm an advocate. Um, I do a lot of things in the community, I also have my own business and that's why I got the award because even though I do depend on help but I don't live in an institution and I just live in, in somebody's neighborhood, smiling and doing whatever I do.

15:37:19:00 - 15:38:21:10

Lisa: Janet, one of the reasons people award other people is because they think they're leaders. Obviously many people think of you as a leader, do you think of yourself in the same way?

Janet: Um, I think of myself as a leader now. Now, you know when they call people 'senior leaders'? I call myself a legendary, and that's what's gonna' be whoever takes care of my ashes, they're gonna have something written somewhere that this was a legend in her own time. But I'm happy with my awards and I seem to pick them as I go along so who knows what's gonna happen next.

END

More Interview Chapters

  1. Childhood and Family
  2. Move to Allegheny Valley School
  3. Janet's Fight to Further Her Education
  4. Move to Community, Marriage to Harry
  5. Advocacy
  6. YOU ARE HERE: Reflections on Life, Career

About Janet Evans

Born: 1953
self-advocate
Pittsburgh, PA

Keywords

AVS School, Boards, Cerebral palsy, HMS School, Institutions, Marriage, Mental retardation, Self-advocacy

The Disability and Change Symposium is available as a free online learning module.

Combating Implicit Bias: Employment

Disability and Change 2020 logo

Go to the learning module

About this year's theme

Employment statistics for persons with disabilities continue to be disappointing, ~19% compared to ~66% of peers without disabilities. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). We ask ourselves, "is there something beyond overt discrimination and access that perhaps we need to address? Are there silent barriers such as those created by implicit bias?"

Most of us believe that we are fair and equitable, and evaluate others based on objective facts. However, all of us, even the most egalitarian, have implicit biases – triggered automatically, in about a tenth of a second, without our conscious awareness or intention, and cause us to have attitudes about and preferences for people based on characteristics such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and religion. These implicit biases often do not reflect or align with our conscious, declared beliefs. (American Bar Association, Commission on Disability Rights, "Implicit Bias Guide," 2019)

This year's theme challenges us to each ask ourselves "What implicit bias(es) do we have and encounter, and how do we recognize them and move beyond them to create opportunities, welcome, and full participation for all?"

As always, this Symposium privileges first-person voices and experiences.

About the Disability and Change Symposium

The stated goal of the annual Symposium is "to create conversation that transcends any one-dimensional depiction of people with disabilities, and foregrounds the multidimensional lives of our speakers - as writers, educators, performers, and advocates."

The Disability and Change Symposium is a one-day, interdisciplinary conference focusing on cultural equity and disability. The event is free, accessible and open to the public.

Acknowledgments

Organized by the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University, the Symposium is an outcome of collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Faculty Council on Disability whose mission is "to foster collaboration across Temple University on disability-related projects including research, teaching, programming, publication, and grant-seeking. By connecting with one another, Council members help build community among the growing number of people at Temple whose work engages with disability."

Core funding for the Disability and Change Symposium is through a grant from the Center for the Humanities at Temple University (CHAT)

We extend our appreciation to Disability Resources and Services for providing Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) and American Sign Language services for the day.

The Institute on Disabilities, Temple University College of Education is pleased to recognize some of our 2020 Symposium Partners/Sponsors from Temple University:

This year we also want to recognize the contributions of students (Associate Professor Deb Blair, STHM 2114 - Leisure & Tourism in a Diverse Society), who contributed to shaping and supporting this symposium:

  • Madeline Culbert, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management; Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management (est. 08/2021)
  • Jair Guardia, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management. (est. 08/2021)
  • Hallie Ingrim, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management
  • Thomas Leonard, School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management (est. 08/2021)
  • Bryan McCurdy, School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Bachelor of Science: Tourism and Hospitality Management (est. 05/2022)

Go to the learning module

Top of Page ↑

All of the content on the Visionary Voices web site is the property of the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University, or other respective owner. Any copying, reproduction, distribution, or other duplication of this material other than for purposes of viewing the web site is strictly prohibited. Copyright 2012-2021, Institute on Disabilities at Temple University, or as to any particular work, the respective owners thereof.