Justine Chichester Leveraging Her Platforms
From JUSTINE CHICHESTER: “Some of my fondest memories are on the stage. From Shakespeare soliloquies while getting my BFA from Florida International University (FIU), to dancing in the musical “Chicago” at the Gusman Theatre in Downtown Miami, I always felt most at home playing various roles onstage.
In September 2014, however, I discovered the role I believe I was born to play. Survivor. I suffered a spinal cord injury and hydrocephalus after a fall in the rain. I lost the ability to stand and to walk. I faced paralysis and was labeled a paraplegic by my neurosurgeons. I was told to get used to “my new life in a wheelchair.”
Gaining strength from places I never knew I had, I fought back. Years of intensive physical therapy followed, along with a ton of hard work and determination. I began to stand again. Walking with a walker soon followed. But the years and years of hard work and struggles through it all continued.
During this time, I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I vowed that despite this latest obstacle, I wouldn’t stop my physical therapy, and I continued PT during the radiation treatments and my Cancer recovery.
Now, over a decade since my fall, I am cancer-free and walking using a cane. I defied the odds.
My background in theatre has helped me share my story. I began a monthly article titled “The View From Here” for Disability Independence Group (DIG), which documents my life living with paralysis and all of the challenges and tribulations that come along with it, day-to-day. I also started posting on social media, my daily struggles in standing, trying to walk and live in this new, paralyzed body.
Sharing this personal journey of living with paralysis, transforming adversity into resilience and using my story to encourage others to face challenges with strength and hope, helped me find purpose in all of the pain. Advocacy.
I use my story now to spark conversations about accessibility, perseverance and the importance of creating a world where every person is valued and included. My work with Disability Independence Group, The Bold Beauty Project and now my role as the Chairwoman of the City of Coral Gables Disability Advisory Board, has been an opportunity for me to make a difference by advancing awareness, equity and opportunities for all individuals with disabilities.
And I continue to share my story, in writing.
This was not the life I chose. But I feel that it is the life I was born to live. The “role” I was born to play. And that “role” is ever evolving. However, I know now that I am not merely a survivor. I am a fighter. And I can proudly say, happily, that I am now a thriver.”
The videos below were recorded via Zoom, are organized by Success Factor, and run between 30 seconds and 4 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.
DEVELOP A VOICE: 1:08 min.
EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 2:07 min.
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 2:46 min.
CRITICAL THINKING: 1:48 min.
SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 3:30 min.
RESILIENCE: 1:19 min.
SERENDIPITY: 2:58 min.
OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 3:10 min.
CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 2:46 min.
SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 1:52 min.
PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS: 3:32 min
CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 2:42 min.
CRITICAL THINKING: 1:26 min.
CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 2:48 min
SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 2:41 min.
PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS: 0:30 sec.
EMPATHY: 1:21 min
