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“I always had a passion for justice…I couldn’t have gotten where I am today without my faith and the love and support of my family.” Melissa L. Day, L'09

To understand 2009 Capital University Law School graduate Melissa L. Day, consider how she describes her teen-age years and the accident that changed her life forever.

“I was 15 years old and had just started gaining my independence. I was working. I was learning how to drive and my parents were finally allowing me to hang out with friends at the movies,” she explains. “That fall, I planned to join the volleyball team and the marching band. I was looking forward to dating and going to all the dances…and I knew I wanted to go to college. My parents encouraged me to do anything I wanted to do —even be a lawyer.”

 

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It was a life that the Columbus native likens to a Norman Rockwell painting.

But, on July 21, 1994, she was swimming at a church camp in northern Ohio, and in a diving accident broke her neck, leaving her paralyzed, she says.

“At first, it was hard for me to cope with my paralysis,” Day says of her hospital recuperation. “I knew I would never again be able to run and jump into bed, swim laps or go horseback riding. Most disheartening, I would always need help taking showers, getting dressed and all the little things I took for granted.”

However, as she adjusted to therapy and the prospect of lifetime nursing assistance, this extraordinary woman emerged mentally, emotionally and spiritually strong, and with a renewed sense of purpose for her life.

Upon leaving the hospital, she knew that the road ahead would be rough, but overcame her fear and doubt and went straight into the world.

She graduated with her class that year from Hilliard High School, went on to Columbus State Community College and then to The Ohio State University, where she graduated in 2003 in political science and pre-law. She took a year off before enrolling in Capital Law School.

“I was tutored at Capital when I was in the 8th grade, so I was familiar with the school,” Day says. “I heard that it was a good law school and I wanted a smaller setting. Everyone that I had talked to who had gone to Capital Law was proud of their experience there, so I enrolled.”

Today, at 30, Day is looking forward to a career advocating for the disabled, fully encouraged by her parents Bill and Debbie Day, and brothers Jason and Justin, and bolstered by her strong faith.

“In my quest to overcome my adversities, I began to see the needs of others above my own,” she says. “As I studied American politics, I learned the importance of political participation and the value of advocating for individual rights.”

She began giving motivational talks during her reign as Ms. Wheelchair America - Ohio in 2003 and sharing stories of accomplishments of the disabled. She received commendations from the Hilliard City Council, then Gov. Bob Taft, and an internship with State Sen. Steve Stivers, where she researched a Medicaid infrastructure grant, which provides financial support to the states to develop and implement a Medicaid buy-in program. Such a program, adopted by individual states, allows Medicaid recipients to work and accumulate certain assets without forfeiting Medicaid benefits.

Day explains that Medicaid provides her essential medical supplies and nursing assistance. “If I lost that, my mother would have to quit her job and take care of me full time. It’s my primary health care coverage and gives me independence and allows me to take part in the community.”

In April 2009, Day graduated from The Jo Ann Davidson Ohio Leadership Institute, which advises members on campaigns, public speaking, and grass roots efforts.

Day has her sights set on political office — maybe Hilliard, Ohio city council — and continued work on behalf of the disabled.

“My dream is to specialize in disability law, civil rights or religious liberties, maybe for the American Center for Law and Justice, based in Virginia Beach and Washington, D.C.,” she says.

But, for the immediate future, Day says she is planning a graduation party with her closest friends and family “and am praying not to psych myself out about the bar exam this July.”