February 19, 2002

Sycamores play part in Olympic celebration

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Don Rogers overcame adversity to become a record-setting wheelchair athlete and, eventually, a college professor.

Beth Browning has devoted much of her life to helping others overcome adversity.

The two members of the Indiana State University community represent the spirit of the Olympic games now going on in Salt Lake City, say those who know them best.

Rogers, an assistant professor of recreation and sport management, and Browning, an ISU sophomore from Shelbyville, were among 11,500 Americans who helped carry the torch on its 13,500-mile journey across the country. The circuitous route took the torch through Terre Haute and the ISU campus on Jan. 8.

Rogers bounced back from a paralyzing motorcycle accident at age 21 to compete in wheelchair sports and climb 8,749-foot Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in his home state of Texas.

Along the way, he obtained a two-year degree in engineering and got a job as a draftsman. But his love of sports prompted him to shift gears.

“I got into therapeutic recreation,” he said. “I just quit my studies in engineering and ended up going to school at the University of North Texas and ended up getting my degree and the opportunities started to avail themselves.”

Rogers served an internship at Indiana University’s Bradford Woods near Martinsville and a grant helped him obtain his master’s degree at Indiana University.

“Another grant came through and it needed a coordinator, so it paid for my doctoral studies,” he recalls.

The accident prompted him to switch from pursuing a degree in dentistry to sports and recreation.

“I just realized I really enjoyed that stuff,” Rogers said. “I realized the value [sports] had added in my own life. Just through associating with a lot of very positive people and the feedback to my self esteem through my sports activities.”

“Don exemplifies how the human spirit can overcome any obstacle,” Rogers’ wife Nancy wrote in nominating him as a torchbearer.

In 1984, Rogers held the world record time of 16.49 seconds in the 100-meter dash as a wheelchair athlete. He was set to compete in the Paralympics but financial problems forced the organization to cancel the games.

His conquest of Guadalupe Peak resulted in congratulations from President Ronald Reagan.

“Nobody thought we’d make it,” Rogers said of his climb. “News helicopters were circling and the park folks were trying to shoe them away,” he recalled with laughter.

Carrying the flame for the 2002 Olympics helped make up for missing the 1984 Paralympics, Rogers said.

“That has always stuck in the back of my mind as a missed opportunity,” he said. “All these other things were serendipitous. That was something that I was actually striving for that had been pulled out from under me so to finally have this opportunity was really neat.”

Browning is majoring in speech language pathology at ISU and has been involved in various volunteer activities.

“Beth inspires others through her selflessness and dedication,” her parents, Ronald and Carol Browning, wrote in nominating their daughter to carry the torch.

“She has tutored a hearing-impaired child; cared for a special-needs boy; volunteered as a playtime facilitator at the children’s hospital; served as a Salvation Army bell ringer; encouraged school organizations to provide services/goods to the needy instead of having a gift exchange,” the Brownings explained.

Last year, Beth helped arrange a prom for ill and disabled teenagers and invited two girls who attended the prom to sleep over in her dorm room.

“I do a lot of work with special needs students — children and adults — and today I ran with them in my heart,” Beth said after completing her leg of the torch run.

“For those that came out I think they really got a sense of what the Olympics is all about. There was a lot of spirit.”

This year’s Olympic theme is “Light the Fire Within.” It is a theme Beth said is exemplified by many people whose lives have touched hers.

“All of the kids and adults with special needs that I have worked with have lighted the fire within me to be who I am today,” she said. “They are my inspiration.”

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Writer:
Dave Taylor, assistant director, public affairs
(812) 237-3743 or devtaylo@isugw.indstate.edu

ISU Public Affairs:
(812) 237-3773 or http://isunews.indstate.edu