THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
Alice Mawdsley of Fort Smith continues to reach her goals in a determined and, some might say miraculous, effort to not let her life be defined by a near-fatal accident as a teenager.
Alice Mawdsley, a Fort Smith resident who suffered life-threatening injuries as a teenager, has graduated from Aurora College. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo |
On April 24 Mawdsley, who suffered life-threatening head injuries as a 16-year-old in a 2008 snowmobiling accident and subsequently had to deal with memory loss, graduated from Aurora College with a diploma in social work.
"It just feels so good to finally have it accomplished and finally have the goal met," she said just after the graduation ceremonies.
Mawdsley, now 24, is also studying online toward a degree in social work from the University of Regina and her diploma from Aurora College will help her reach that goal in a year or so.
"It feels absolutely amazing to remember back to when it was kind of a question of how difficult it would be for me to even graduate high school, and now I'm so close to a degree," she said.
"It's just amazing that all this hard work really did pay off."
Not only did she graduate from Paul William Kaeser High School in 2009, but she was valedictorian of her graduating class.
Mawdsley explained she graduated high school and obtained a post-secondary education because that is simply what she wanted to do and felt it wasn't a completely impossible goal.
"Even just a small percentage chance of it happening was enough for me to say, 'OK, I'm going for it,'" she said.
"I kind of knew it all along. I never once sat there and said, 'OK, well this is it.'"
As a result of the accident, Mawdsley was in a month-long coma and underwent a number of operations. She also had to relearn how to talk and walk.
She returned to Fort Smith in June of 2008 after months in hospital in Edmonton.
As for how she is doing now, Mawdsley said, "I'm doing just fine. There are still some difficulties with memory, but they're definitely far from what they were."
Her mother, Phyllis Mawdsley, said it is a great accomplishment for Alice to graduate from college.
"More than we could ever have expected initially, but it's great perseverance on her part," she said.
"We're so thankful with her good attitude to keep going, to try anything to get up there, and to just keep digging."
Phyllis also acknowledged the role Aurora College played in helping her daughter.
"Aurora College is an absolutely wonderful place to support students," she said.
"So we're very thankful for all the support we received from Aurora College."
There was no special acknowledgment of Alice Mawdsley and her long struggle when she received her diploma on April 24 and she said she's quite fine with that.
Everyone in Fort Smith constantly offers her encouragement and congratulations, she said.
"Of course, they're not going to point it out in the middle of a graduation ceremony when there are so many other graduates. Even though my injury and my accomplishments are so out there and so highlighted, it doesn't mean that any of the other graduates didn't work as hard as me. All the other graduates who have children, who had to leave home and everything, they've all had challenges similar to mine."
In fact, Mawdsley does not consider her accomplishment to be exceptional, explaining, "I know personally what I did was incredible for me, but I don't see it as me needing an award every time I do something."
Mawdsley doesn't know if she is an inspiration to people because of her remarkable recovery.
"But if I am, then I've very proud of that," she said.
"And I hope that my accomplishments show people that, you know what, even though things get difficult at times, even though things may get extremely challenging and look impossible, you just have to keep working, and you can do it."
