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Disabled speakers to kids: Life is what you make it
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
Photo
Chaz Kellem, manager of diversity initiatives for the Pittsburgh Pirates, talks about disability awareness during a parent-night program at Poland North Elementary School. Fourth-grader Kyle Koziel listens during his presentation at Wednesday’s program.
By Sean Barron
POLAND
Nine-year-old Philip Hockensmith cried after learning he was going with his family on a six-day trip near West Palm Beach, Fla., earlier this month.
The unexpected reaction was because Philip thought he would miss meeting Chaz R. Kellem.
About a week later, however, things completely fell into place for the third-grader: He went to Florida, received a call from Kellem and got to hear his motivational talk during Wednesday’s Family Citizenship Night seminars at North Elementary School, 361 Johnston Place.
The event was postponed last week because of inclement weather.
“I learned you should be respectful and not bully,” Philip said after hearing Kellem. “Don’t ever give up.”
Philip’s mother, Patti, said her son has a speech difficulty and that the 30-minute presentation gave the boy added desire to work toward correcting it.
Kellen, 27, manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ diversity initiatives office, was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a rare genetic bone disorder characterized by brittle bones that break easily. The disorder often is accompanied by scoliosis, short stature and muscle weakness, according to www.oif.org.
Kellem told his audience of third- and fourth-graders and their parents that he’s broken 43 bones and has no idea what it’s like to walk and perform many other functions. Nevertheless, that hasn’t deterred him from deriving maximum enjoyment from life, he stressed.
“Life is what you make it. Have fun along the way, live life the best you can and love others,” Kellem advised.
Youngsters who are curious about someone with a disability should ask their parents or conduct research instead of staring at the person, he explained.
Accompanying Kellem was childhood friend Chris Mielo, who uses a wheelchair after having been injured at age 4 when a 19-year-old drunk driver collided head-on with the vehicle he was in.
After the accident, which killed his mother and a family friend, Mielo realized he could become absorbed by anger and despair or learn to embrace life, and chose the latter, he told the youngsters.
Mielo works for the Peal Center, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit agency that assists families with children who have disabilities. He’s also a freelance photographer.
Despite some physical limitations, Mielo said, he plays basketball and has participated in track and field, water-skiing and other sports. He and Kellem also have girlfriends and full-time jobs, Mielo continued.
Their advice, humor, anecdotes and examples also resonated with Grace Schaefer, 9, a North Elementary fourth-grader.
“You should not stare at people who have disabilities. They can still do things, but in a different way,” Grace said, adding that Kellem and Mielo gave her added motivation to excel at math and handwriting.
Grace came with her mother, Julie.
Kellem and Mielo also challenged the youngsters to form a semicircle in chronological order according to their birthdays. The students were to collaborate with one another without speaking, and the purpose was to encourage them to work as a team.
Kellem also gave T-shirts and certificates to Pirates games to students who correctly answered certain questions.
“He’s a great, great motivational speaker kids, at the end of the night, can admire,” Principal Mike Masucci said, adding that Kellem got him tickets a few years ago to an interleague game between the Pirates and New York Yankees.
The two-hour program also included a presentation by Jim Pipino, owner of nine Arby’s restaurants in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, who spoke on the importance of determination; and Kathleen Day, a theater performer from Springfield, who gave geography lessons inside an Earth Dome, a 19-foot-tall inflatable balloon containing satellite photographs of the planet.