Elizabeth Diederich is counting on the third time being a charm in her decade-long quest to earn a degree in psychology.
But this time the 33-year-old Aurora woman has Waubonsee Community College’s most prestigious award to help reach that goal.
Diederich was honored with the John F. Swalec Presidential Achievement Scholarship earlier this year, a cash gift from the Waubonsee Community College Foundation that, even more than the money, has given her added confidence to continue on with her education, despite some pretty compelling obstacles.
“When I filled out that application, it gave me time to reflect,” Diederich told me, “not just about what I’ve been through but how far I’ve come.”
In fact, the award, named after WCC’s third president who led the college for two decades, is all about recognizing a student who had to overcome significant challenges to stay in school.
Diederich was born legally blind, which among other restrictions, means she can’t drive a vehicle, and that in itself stacks the cards against a student intent on going to classes at Waubonsee, where its main campus is in Sugar Grove.
Speaking of which, it was a tragedy at the college on Route 47 that, perhaps even more than her disability, first threw Diederich off course.
In April of 2010, her “very good friend” Brandon Utley, 19, along with Ryan Sherrod, 18, was killed when the car Sherrod was driving collided with a garbage truck at the north entrance of the college while attempting to make a left turn across Route 47.
Four years later this tragedy resulted in a $1.3 million road project that included added lanes and a traffic light. But the crash – Brandon died instantly at the scene – affected her so deeply, Diederich told me she found herself avoiding the campus because “it just got to be too hard going by” the crash site every day where her friend had lost his life.
The years continued to throw other hurdles her way, as well. Because she was raised to “do what everyone else can do,” Diedrich found herself “worn out” from a job she eventually had to quit.
Living alone in low-income housing, she decided to go back to school. But when the pandemic hit, Pace’s Paratransit Service, which offers door to door service for those with disabilities, became unreliable, often running hours behind schedule trying to adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols.
After more moves that did not work out, Diederich dropped out of WCC classes again in order to juggle two jobs so she could get her own apartment. These days she works as a custodian for the college, which is “a job suitable for me because it requires low vision.”
Because her limited eyesight means she can’t read facial expressions, she also learned how better to communicate with people, Diederich noted, thanks to a caseworker with the Association for Individual Development, who helped her realize “people don’t know I could not see them.”
Grateful for all the help she’s received along the way, Diederich meant what she said when she told the foundation’s interview panel “I was going to make a difference, starting right now.”
Indeed. Just recently she was named to the city of Aurora’s Advisory Commission on Disabilities, and after attending her first meeting earlier this month “is excited about finding ways I can help give back to others.”
It was this student’s “gratitude and humility” that “blew us away,” said WCC Vice President for Student Development Melinda Tejada, who also serves as executive director of the Waubonsee Community College Foundation, and sat in on the interviews with finalists, who are judged by community stakeholders, including city officials and business owners.
“Rather than being angry or bitter or feeling entitled” because of her obstacles, said Tejada, “what impressed me was Elizabeth’s resolution, as well as her gratitude for those who have helped her.”
Diederich’s willingness to step forward and allow her story to be shared is a gift in itself. There are many WCC students who have overcome tremendous hurdles but don’t necessarily want to share their stories, Tejada pointed out. And it’s the mission of the college – as well as the WCC Foundation, which handed out more than $314,000 in scholarships this year – “to help provide them with as much support as possible.”
“Normally life’s drama and troubles are things I try not to share with others. People don’t want to meet me and hear about all the things I need to try and get through,” Diederich said.
“To be able to sit in a room with members from the community asking questions, I realized that wow, I really have done a lot,” she said. “And If I can get through all this, I can get through anything.”
Now on her third attempt, Diederich needs only “two more classes and a lab” to receive her associate’s degree, with plans to continue her studies in psychology at Aurora University.
“The best therapists I’ve had were the ones who had to deal with some struggles. I feel that because I’ve had hurdles of my own, others will be able to better relate to me,” she said.
“I really do want to help others along the way.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
