Undergraduate Blog / Defining Your Babson

Babson Is Here to Help

As stated in my last blog, I am on crutches due to an injury to my knee. In 2 weeks, I will be getting surgery, so I will be on crutches for a while longer. For anyone who has been to Babson, you might not have realized it, but the campus is not very handicap accessible. For starters I used to live on the 3rd floor of Forrest. Forrest is an old build that has no elevator and is pretty far from many buildings on campus. Living here can be very hard while on crutches. This is one of the many things that being injured has affected. Though living at Babson is hard while handicapped, the school is going above and beyond in helping me. At Babson the faculty and staff are here to help you.

From the very beginning of being hurt I have gotten nothing but help and sympathy. By being a Varsity athlete I have access to a trainer. At the trainer, I receive free therapy. They have taught me exercises, to help me improve my strength before surgery. When I go in I get various treatments such as ice and stem to help with the pain. Through the trainer, I have had various doctor appointments, an x-ray and a MRI. The trainer arranged these appointments for me. I would be a lot worse if it was not for the trainer. They have helped me a lot the past couple of months.

Now access to a trainer is something many school athletes all over the country receive, however I don’t know if any other school could be as kind in other areas as Babson has been to me. The professors are extremely understanding towards me.  The night before my first day of classes on crutches I emailed my professors to let them know that I might be late to class due my knee since crutches make walking a longer task than normal. Within 30 seconds of sending the email two of my professors emailed me back asking me what happened. The professors here honestly care about my well-being  They are always asking about how my knee is and you can tell that their inquiry is genuine. I love how my professors care about me more than just a student, but as a person as well.

The administration is incredible at Babson. Once it was determined that I would need surgery, my mom and I realized that the location of my dorm room was not ideal. I could easily hurt myself climbing up the stairs to my room on the third floor. We emailed Disability Services about the need for a room change. With their and Residence Life’s help they were able to find me a new room. Next semester I will be on the first floor of Central. Not only does this move involve less stairs, but the building itself is in a much closer to academic buildings then Forest is. It is very tough moving rooms the middle of my freshmen year, especially when a lot of my friends live in my old building, but I have to do it.

Since my old dorm building was so far from many buildings I often received the help of Public Safety or as we call them Babo. If the weather conditions were not nice out (example snow) or I was going to a building that would be a 10 minute walk for a non-gimp I would call Babson. I would tell them my location and that I was on crutches and ask if they could bring me to my desired destination.  They would then pick me up and bring me to where I needed to be. Sometimes the wait is rather long to be picked up, but I am extremely grateful that Babo will do this for anyone that is hurt.  From experience I know that walking long distances on crutches is not fun.

Public Safety Building

Before moving all my things to my new dorm, my parents and I meet with Dean Kwash , the Dean of First Years and the head of Disabilities Mary Powell. At this meeting we were able to talk about any and all accommodations that Babson could provide me. I varied from getting a handicap parking sticker if I can drive after the surgery (I can’t) to how to handle missing a class if the pain is intolerable or the weather is too bad for me to walk with crutches. These two were able to make any concern my parents and I had about next semester vanished. Babson is here to help you in any way you need. I need help with various things due to an injury, who knows what others might need? All you need to do is ask for help and Babson will point you in the right direction.