Making His Mark

Having lived in Florida for most of his life, Brian Douglas cheerfully called the hilly landscape of Charlottesville a “rude awakening.” He hadn’t visited Virginia before arriving for his first semester at UVA, so traversing the Grounds either in a wheelchair or on prosthetic legs was a challenge he wasn’t fully prepared for—though taking on challenges is certainly nothing new to the former Paralympic athlete.

Now a fourth-year student, Douglas is involved in a dizzying number of activities: In addition to being the full-time manager for the varsity swim team and assistant front desk manager and exam proctor for the Student Disability Access Center, he’s active in three different UVA Clubs. He’s the president of Club Wrestling and the Student Disability Alliance, treasurer of the Wheelchair Tennis Club, and transition advisor for the newly formed Grappling Club. This year, he’s also a member of the IMP Society and the Student Health Advisory Committee—not to mention a kinesiology major with a full course load.

The Russell H. and Laura Lee Turner Bicentennial Scholarship that Douglas received made his journey to UVA possible. The scholarship provides need-based aid to undergraduate students enrolled in the School of Education and Human Development. In 2020, the University committed to matching gifts to the Bicentennial Scholars Fund, which has now reached over $645 million and created over 600 new endowed scholarships like the one that helped pave the way for Douglas.

The scholarship has changed my life in so many ways. I’ve grown so much as an individual, and I’ve been able to help others on their journeys as well.

– Brian Douglas

“I have a video of my mom bursting into tears when I told her about the full scholarship. Definitely a movie moment,” Douglas remembered. “The scholarship has changed my life in so many ways. I’ve grown so much as an individual, and I’ve been able to help others on their journeys as well,” he said.

Brian had a good idea about what he wanted to study at UVA when he arrived, having had three summer internships focused on prosthetics and orthotics. In those internships, he worked as a clinical assistant, helping the practitioners with patient communication, including translating technical jargon, and working one-on-one with patients, adjusting their prosthetics and helping them learn to use their prosthetics on a daily basis. He also worked as a lab technician, leading his own projects and making prosthetics—including his own.

“It’s really cool to get to walk around on my own work every day. But I know that if something goes wrong, I don’t have anyone else to blame,” he laughed.

During summer internships in orthotics and prosthetics back at home in Florida, Brian Douglas worked as a clinical assistant and lab technician and was able to construct his own prosthetic legs.

Part of Douglas’s desire to study at UVA had to do with the caliber of the kinesiology program as well as its extensive alumni network for students with disabilities. In addition to his own coursework, he’s been able to work closely with Professor Abby Fines (Ed ’14 ’21), who teaches in the Kinesiology for Individuals with Disabilities program. She has helped promote the Wheelchair Tennis Club, founded in 2021, and has invited Brian to speak to students in her classes on more than one occasion.

“As an instructor, I like to invite guest speakers from the disabled population to be guest speakers in my class because they have unique experiences, and I don’t identify as having a disability,” Fines said. “I’m always cautious because I don’t want it to be a burden, but it can be helpful for students to learn directly from them—maybe even more than me,” she joked.

Fines secured funding to acquire 23 sport wheelchairs, designed for greater speed and turning capability, as well as added stability. She uses these in her courses to give students the practical experience of using a wheelchair as a way to consider accessibility. The UVA Wheelchair Tennis Club is able to use them as well.

“That means that students like Brian who want to join the wheelchair tennis team have the equipment to do that—at least as a starting point,” said Fines.

None of the spaces in the world were created for me to thrive, so I have to adapt myself to those situations or environments.

— Brian Douglas

The Wheelchair Tennis Club and the (able-bodied) Wrestling Club have both been an important part of Douglas’s experience at UVA—the competition and the camaraderie. “Having that outlet where I can compete against other people with disabilities has been so positive for me—not only physically, but also mentally,” he said. “I think it’s so invaluable to have those kinds of programs for people with disabilities.”

Douglas is actively involved in creating and maintaining that support for disabled students at UVA, in part through his work with the Student Disability Alliance. Each semester, the group partners with the Student Disability Access Center to send an email to any student receiving accommodations. The email includes information about the Student Disability Alliance, including their meeting times and available resources. Douglas emphasizes how much it helps to have a community of other students who understand the lived experience of having a disability, in addition to cultivating awareness of those experiences in others.

“My friends tell me I don’t seem like I have a disability sometimes, but whether or not I’m perceived that way, at the end of the day I still have that disability,” he said. “None of the spaces in the world were created for me to thrive, so I have to adapt myself to those situations or environments.”

The Student Disability Alliance also creates maps of UVA that show accessible routes, and their website allows users to report any barriers they find. “We just try to make Grounds a little bit more inclusive and accessible for everyone,” Douglas said. “If I had to pick one thing to leave my mark on at UVA, I’d say it’s definitely helping that program and that initiative continue and grow.”

With plans to attend the McIntire School of Commerce to pursue graduate studies in biotechnology after Final Exercises this spring, it's likely Douglas will make more than one mark on the University.