Harper hosts Iraq War’s first female amputee
The Iraq War’s first female amputee soldier is coming to Harper College in Palatine to share her life and experiences.
Just two months after Melissa Stockwell lost her leg in 2004, she was learning how to ski on a prosthetic leg. She has since competed in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing and won the 2010 Paratriathlon World Championships.
Now 31, Stockwell is on the Wounded Warrior Project board of directors, works as a certified prosthetist and says she’s done more with one leg than she ever would have accomplished with two.
Stockwell’s inspirational talk will start at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, in Harper’s J Theatre, Room J143, Roselle and Algonquin roads, Palatine.
Other Harper College events to mark October as Disability Awareness Month:
Ÿ Free showing of “Darius Goes West,” 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19. Award-winning documentary about a 15-year old who sets off with friends to get his wheelchair customized on MTV’s “Pimp My Ride.”
Ÿ “The King’s Speech” shown at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25. The life of King George VI of England, who worked with an eccentric speech therapist to overcome severe stuttering.
Ÿ A Disability History exhibit will be on display Oct. 24-28 outside the Student Development Office, Room A379, Building A.