Audrey Caro
Gerritt Schaffer expected to face some challenges when he returned to college last year.
Getting into the building wasn’t one of them.
Schaffer, 42, has used a wheelchair since he was paralyzed from the waist down when he suffered a spinal cord injury in April of 2016 in a dirt bike crash.
He’s been attending Linn-Benton Community College to pursue a career in engineering, he said.
“I can’t be an electrician anymore,” he said. “(That involves) a lot of difficult field work. I’m going for engineering.”
One challenge has been getting into the LBCC Sweet Home Center, located at 1661 Long St. in the Sweet Home High School complex.
The building had not been equipped with automatic doors for wheelchair users and others.
Trying to open the door while holding onto his books was not an easy task, especially while dealing with the elements.
“The rain is my enemy,” Schaffer joked.
“That door is really heavy,” said Pearl Christman, a clerical specialist at the Linn-Benton Community College Sweet Home Center.
Schaffer credits Christman and his English instructor, Kriste York, for getting the ADA automatic opener installed for the main entrance at the Sweet Home location on Nov. 21.
“I watched him struggle, but he never let up,” Christman said.
She worked with people in the facilities department at the main campus in Albany over the fall term to get the door installed.
“I like a good challenge,” Schaffer said. “I’m so grateful that Pearl kept the ball rolling.”
Christman said the door will be helpful to other students and delivery people as well.
As for the other challenges of returning to school, Schaffer is at the beginning of his journey.
He took English Composition from York in the fall.
“She really helped me to tap into another part of my brain,” Schaffer said.