MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University is hosting its first recognition of National Disability Employment Awareness Month with a leadership and disability conference on Oct. 29.

Free and open to the public, the event will be held from 1-3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the MT Center inside the Sam H. Ingram Building, 2269 Middle Tennessee Blvd.

MTSU is hosting six successful speakers who will be discussing their professional and personal journey coping with mental and/or physical disabilities. The conference aims to shape the audience’s perspectives on success, leadership and ability in the workplace by the speakers sharing their insights and experiences.

The conference is the brainchild of MTSU junior media management student Kia Dowen, chapter president of the honor societies Gold Key International and Omicron Delta Kappa. The 30-year-old Virginia native is also a transfer Buchanan fellow and first-generation college student.

“I chose to promote the topic of leadership and disability to showcase the leadership expertise and meaningful experiences of individuals with disabilities. I also hope to validate the experiences of students with both visible and invisible disabilities by providing a platform of powerful representation,” Dowen said. 

“It is one’s civic duty to be of service to the community, and I believe it is the responsibility of any member of the media to both shed a spotlight on critical issues as well as to unite others in their ability to become meaningfully involved,” she continued.

‘Everybody should attend this event’

Master of ceremonies for the event will be WBRC-TV News 6’s first alert meteorologist Meaghan Thomas, an award-winning broadcast meteorologist who’s also an advocate for the hard of hearing by raising awareness for deaf communities.

Thomas proudly wears bi-lateral hearing aids and promotes the idea that individual differences make people special with her personal brand and nonprofit The Heart of Hearing, which raises funding for those who cannot afford hearing aids. To learn more information and how to donate, click here.

Following Thomas is speaker Gerald Christian, associate director of the MTSU Disability and Access Center, which serves as an initial point of contact, conduit of information and provisioner in matters related to disability accommodation, access and awareness.

“Everybody should attend this event. Disability is one of those topics not everyone is super knowledgeable on or in some cases, not even comfortable with,” said Christian, who was paralyzed in a car wreck as a teenager. “As mind-blowing as it sounds, our country just had an all-time record high in terms of disability discrimination complaints.

“As a university and as a community, we can make a difference by raising awareness. The best way to do this is to talk about disability and listen with an open mind,” he continued.

After Thomas and Christian kick things off, other featured speakers, in order of appearance, include:

• Shari Hinton, a Nashville, Tenn. native, who works for the Office of Protective Services for the Smithsonian Institute and overcame a number of personal challenges to become an advocate for vulnerable populations.
• Joe Adams, a military veteran, small business owner and MTSU psychology graduate student who founded the Relentless Pursuit company that empowers others to share their personal stories.
• JP Williams, a hit songwriter, performer, executive coach and motivational speaker who lost his vision at age 10. Now certified by the International Coaching Federation and recipient specialty training in mental health modalities, Williams also started the publishing company, Blonde Leading Blind Music.
• Eric Zink, one of the largest mental health and addiction advocate educators on social media with millions of followers across various platforms, such as TikTok as @themrimpulsive, as well as on Instagram and YouTube.

Following each speaker’s remarks, a Q&A with the audience will be held. Find more speaker biographical information at the bottom of this story.

‘Challenging how we as a society view disability’

Christian, who has worked at MTSU for over a decade as an advisor, teacher and administrator, suffered a cervical spine injury in a car wreck at age 16, vastly changing his life trajectory. 

“The first 16 years of my life, I didn’t have a disability, but for the last 24 years, I have lived with a pretty severe disability that impacts most aspects of daily living,” Christian said. “I have experienced the world from both sides.

“After my car wreck, I started noticing a lot of societal issues around disability. Whether in hospitals, rehab centers, dorms or wheelchair rugby practices and tournaments, you start hearing the same stories over and over and see the impact these things have on people’s day-to-day life.”

Despite this challenge, he earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology, master’s in professional counseling and his Ph.D. in human performance where he studied leisure sciences and the sport industry — all at MTSU.

“I chose MTSU for disability and accessibility reasons for both school and work. As a student back then, MTSU was always regarded as a very disability friendly campus,” Christian said.

As an administrator in the Disability and Access Center, he works with students across a myriad of backgrounds facing both physical and mental disabilities. In his day-to-day, he evaluates student medical and psychological records and then works with those students to find them the right accommodations.

He then adequately communicates those needs to the professors with the ultimate goal of allowing “the student equal access to higher education,” he said.

Christian said his talk at the conference will focus more on his personal story and challenges he has face as a disabled person, rather than his role at the center.

“I want to share some of my own personal experiences with a disability and tie that to my research on the stigma that surrounds disability,” Christian said. “I plan on challenging how we as a society view disability and the best approach for moving forward.”

Overcoming adversity, helping others do the same

Like Christian and Thomas, the other featured speakers have a diversity of stories and perspectives to share surrounding disabilities.

• Hinton had a transient upbringing because of her father’s position in the U.S. Army as well as a tumultuous childhood. She endured many difficulties throughout life, such as experiencing homelessness, different mental health diagnoses and physical disabilities. 

Despite these challenges, she now works for the federal government as well as public speaking to empower and advocate for vulnerable populations in her community.

• Adams founded his company, Relentless Pursuit, which is a personal training company aimed at empowering others to share their stories.

He also hosts and produces the Relentless Pursuit Podcast, which allows guests from a multitude of backgrounds to share the details of their stories. The former undergraduate student of Christian’s sports psychology class featured his former teacher on his podcast in March. To listen to that or more episodes, click here.

• Williams has co-written two No. 1 songs: “Best Shot” in country and “Never Walk Alone” in gospel. He’s played venues such as the Grand Ole Opry and the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Williams worked for decades as a signed songwriter on Nashville’s Music Row before deciding to shift his career to coaching for executives. He’s worked with leaders from Fortune 100 and 500 corporations, universities and health care institutions across the U.S.

When he’s not coaching, Williams continues to perform and write music under his publishing company, Blonde Leading Blind Music, and operates a podcast called Blonde Leading the Blind Podcast. Listen here.

• Wrapping up the conference is Zink, who was diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. He’s also a recovering alcoholic and cocaine addict.

Zink suffered the losses of his wife to suicide in 2015 and his father to suicide in 2017 along with attempting to take his own life in 2018. He uses these experiences to help others know they aren’t alone and can conquer the challenges they endure along their journeys.

The University Honors College, Omicron Delta Kappa, the Office of the University Provost and Golden Key International Honor Society were the organizing sponsors of the conference along with support from numerous other campus organizations.

“This conference is a sincere embodiment of MTSU’s deep commitment in recognizing and supporting the success of individuals with disabilities and an example of the power and importance of interdisciplinary collaboration,” Dowen said.

If any students need accommodations at the event, contact the MTSU Disability and Access Center with requests at least five business days prior to the event by emailing dacemail@mtsu.edu or by calling (615) 898-2783.

Off-campus visitors attending the event can obtain a temporary permit from the Parking and Transportation Services office at 205 City View Drive or pay by plate by visiting this webpage, https://bit.ly/mtvisitorparking, and clicking the appropriate link under “Visitor Parking.” Visitor permits are $2 per day. A parking map and more information is available at https://mtsu.edu/parking/.

— Maddy Williams (Maddy.Williams@mtsu.edu)