There was a big party here Saturday.
Family and friends celebrated the college graduation of Monica Quimby.
Quimby, 22, whose legs were paralyzed while skiing on Jan. 28, 2006, graduated from the University of New Hampshire May 23 with a bachelor of science degree in molecular, cellular and developmental biology.
The daughter of Scott and Nadia Quimby of Turner, she looks forward to a future in science. For now, Quimby's all smiles about her graduation, her most recent milestone.
The public was first introduced to Quimby as her parents waited and worried from a hospital lobby while she slept, paralyzed from the waist down. Quimby had been skiing with the University of New Hampshire ski club at Sunday River in Newry, and swerved to avoid a snowboarder. She found herself on top of a ski jump, flew up in the air and crashed 20 feet to the ground, severing her spinal cord.
She spent months in the hospital and at an Atlantic rehabilitation center.
By April of 2006 she was home.
By July she was driving, hopping from her wheelchair into the car, then folding up her wheelchair with ease.
By September she was back at the University of New Hampshire, taking notes as the biochemistry professor lectured about the amino-acid sequence.
Each time she was interviewed about her progress, Quimby's optimistic attitude came across. The most recent interview was no different.
"It takes too much energy to be sad. I'd rather put it into something positive," Quimby said. Reflecting on her injury and graduation, she credited what most would consider a tragedy for changing her for the better.
"I feel like the accident, even how bad it was, I needed to direct my life in the right direction," Quimby said. Before she was paralyzed "I was failing out of college, getting a solid C minus. I didn't have a direction. I wasn't sure that college was right for me."
She was 19, confused, wondering if college would really determine her future. "Everybody needs that shock," she said. "It might come when you're 19 or 16 or 25. There's that point where you grow up. After that point you're not confused anymore. You have direction. And you feel more complete. It's really good to know what you want."
Even dating improved after she was injured, which she attributes to her attitude. "A lot of people my age have a lot of body image issues and insecurities. I don't," she said, adding she's been dating her boyfriend for two years. When you're comfortable with yourself, that shines through, she said. "Anytime I go out with friends, people come up and talk to me because I look like a friendly face. It's really great."
But attending college in a wheelchair wasn't easy, she said. UNH is not an easy campus to maneuver around. "It looks totally different from four feet. There's a lot of hills, a lot of stairs."
There's the New England weather. "I had a really hard winter on campus," she said. "They weren't plowing. Physically it was troubling. But I got through it."
She stayed at UNH, Quimby said, because of the professors and the research opportunities. Her professors motivating her to learn, were enthusiastic about science and willing to talk after class.
Professor Tom Davis, who had Quimby in his science classes and labs, recalled how heartbreaking it was to get news of her accident in 2006. "I had no idea how she would deal with that," Davis said Friday. "It's remarkable to see how she did deal with it. She's been able to become even more upbeat after that."
Davis said he had 14 or 15 people working in his lab. "She's been an inspiration to everybody."
During her years at UNH Quimby said she's reached out to students who had disabilities or challenges. "You don't know that much about people until you really start talking to them," she said. "All my friends have opened up to me. It's beautiful how we can all learn and grow together."
Her friend, Polly, died last year at age 22 from bone cancer. "She was very much like me. She didn't talk about the cancer. I didn't talk about being paralyzed." Despite being sick, Polly remained a college student and a member of the volleyball team. "People like that inspire me, too."
Now that she's graduated she'll move back home to Turner for a few months, work out more, help plan Leavitt Area High School's class of 2004 reunion in June.
She's taking a year off from her education to work with low-income high school students at UNH, showing them what college opportunities are available to them. When she goes to grad school, she plans to stay in New England, close to her family.
Her goal is to become a biology professor and researcher, working on genetic disorders, cancer or stem cell research. "I want to contribute," she said. To see more of the Sun Journal or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sunjournal.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine