By (May 2, 2008)

Porter Promotes UAlbany Pride

“If something is amazing you don’t have to say it’s amazing.  People will know.” 

That’s one of the lessons Paul Porter, a junior from East Aurora, N.Y., has learned from his time as a communication major at UAlbany.  This phrase is particularly fitting in the context of Porter’s own life, considering his numerous activities and achievements both inside and outside the University.

Porter has Friedreich’s ataxia, a form of Muscular Dystrophy that affects the central nervous system.  Diagnosed at the age of 12, he has been in a wheelchair permanently since age 16.  Although he admits that he was initially “embarrassed to be different,” Porter says that he adjusted to the chair and doesn’t define himself by it – nor does anyone else.  “If people know me, that’s not what they notice about me,” he says.  “I can do anything.”

That attitude has helped Porter become UAlbany’s first resident assistant and orientation assistant to be in a wheelchair.  His involvement in Residential Life, and his experience as a trainer for Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program, sparked an interest in the field of higher education and student affairs, which he hopes to make his career.  This interest led to his role in the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Undergraduate Fellowship Program. 

The program has a mentor/mentee structure designed to introduce students to the field of their choice; Porter works with UAlbany’s Disability Resource Center. His first project, the Jail and Bail program held last November, netted more than $10,000 for the Disabled Student Scholarship Fund.  Also through the fellowship program, he will intern this summer at the Office of the Dean of Students at the University of Vermont.

As part of his involvement with the Disability Resource Center, Porter is working towards making the UAlbany campus more accessible.  Citing recent developments such as the construction of the Purple Path and new bathrooms on the first floor of the Campus Center, he says, “They’re improving the campus while improving accessibility.”

Also of note is Porter’s election as a Student Advisory Committee representative for BACCHUS, a peer education network promoting health and safety issues on college campuses.  As the representative for Area 11, Porter communicates between BACCHUS and affiliates in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and produces a monthly newsletter for those affiliates, among them Middle Earth.

Porter’s most recent accomplishment was receiving a President’s Award for Leadership, the UAlbany Spirit Award, in recognition of his success in spreading school spirit. This spirit is apparent. Porter is happy he came to the University, not only for the academics, but for the social aspect as well.

“Friends are so easy to make here at UAlbany,” he notes.  “People are so open and accepting of other people and their differences.  I think that’s great.”