Cichella’s team was assigned 32 veterans. The group was comprised of new and older veterans who were blind or partially blind, wheelchair bound, had traumatic brain injuries or were amputees with prosthetics. The group went skiing, which was a first for some of the veterans, and took a snowcat ride across the mountain along with other adaptive activities.
“I think it is great exposure for students to have the opportunity to support veterans,” said National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic Director Teresa Parks. “This is also a great opportunity for students with an interest in rehabilitation to get a sense of what goes into supporting individuals with disabilities.”
Volunteering at this clinic and interactions with the veterans helped confirm for Cichella her path after graduation.
“I’ve been interested in prosthetics. A lot of the people who go to this have amputations and have prosthetic limbs, so I was really interested to get to work with them in a setting where they were doing these kinds of activities.”
After CMU, she will apply to graduate schools with the goal of becoming a prosthetics practitioner.
The profound impact this clinic has on the veterans who attend and the students who volunteer is lasting. There were 10 alumni from the kinesiology department that volunteered at the clinic this year, and a handful of them have been doing it every year for the past five years.
“It’s empowering and life changing for a lot of my students,” Cordova said. •
