Thread by @jakequery

Today, for #20TriumphsIn20Days, features Alec, 23.
Born with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita, a joint degeneration, Alec dreamed of playing in the NBA. He says he didn’t make it, not because of his ailment, but rather, because he’s 5’4”.
He’s finding new heights. Thread:

He begins by telling me of his love of basketball. A 2016 North Central grad, Alec is clearly a student of the game. He marvels over the stats of Russell Westbrook, admires the skill set of Kevin Durant- but he likes small market teams. The Thunder. The Pacers. Alec identifies

with them. His favorite Pacer, he tells me- one he dreams of someday meeting- is @MalcolmBrogdon7. “I see a lot of myself in him”, Alec says. “He’s quiet, but he’s an absolute plus. And he proves people wrong. I can’t imagine meeting him.”
It’d be another in a long series of odds

defying feats in the life of Alec.
His journey began in Taldykorgan Kazakhstan, where he lived in an orphanage for his first 4 years. That ailment. He was always aware of it, the way it bent his wrists & ankles in ways they weren’t supposed to go. It made for such twists & turns

over the years. Each time, Alec got things straight.
He remembers it in Elementary School. Enrolled by his adoptive family in Washington Township schools, Alec recalls having an aide with him during classes. “They couldn’t read my handwriting, so I used a computer. I was always

embarrassed when I had to scan my work when everyone else just turned their in.”
That was the worst part. His work was no different. Alec has no intellectual disabilities. Just born with a curse of looking a little different. That mind? Straight as an arrow.
It was finally

noticed at Northview Middle School. “They wanted to put me in special classes, but this teacher Mr. Freeman said ‘We’re not doing this’. He could see that I didn’t need special help.”
Mr. Freeman. Who began making Alec a free man.
By the time Alex reached North Central, he had

no academic restrictions. “It was sink or swim. Well, except when everyone took swimming. I did a cardio bike”, Alec jokes. “I took business classes and some engineering classes. I knew what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to work in hospitality.”
He learned of @ErskineGreen from

a vocational counselor and enrolled after North Central. His training at EGTI taught him adaptation to work schedules and the physical requirements for hotel work.
He landed a job working the phones at a major downtown hotel, and has aspirations of moving to the front desk.

“It’s tough because I can’t stand long periods, so I require a stool after a short time”, Alec explains to me. “I would love to make it to the other side of that wall to help customers face to face, but the hotel told me a stool would be a bad look. They told me I’m a bad look.”

Think about that. Each twist & turn in this kid’s life and each time he’s answered the challenge. Yet the twists in his own body are the thing giving someone else doubt.
“It’s just another excuse”, Alex tells me. “I just love proving people wrong. It’s such a fossil way of

thinking. I want people to know what they said to me. If it changes the way of thinking of one person, it’s worth it”

Alec admires @MalcolmBrogdon7 because he sees him as a quiet leader.

Alec, 23. A leader because he knows that sometimes leading himself means speaking up.

Alec found confidence and opportunity from his time at Erskine Green. If you’d like to learn more, or help others like Alec, you may do so, here:

erskinegreeninstitute.org