Customer of the Month December 2006

Jennifer Biggers

When you talk with Jennifer Biggers, this month's ARS Customer of the Month, the energy that simply radiates from her voice tells you as much as the words that come out of her mouth. My guess is if you had run into her on the U of A campus at Fayetteville sometime in the past couple of years, you'd have seen her with a group of people and she'd be out in front of the pack in her wheelchair and not following behind. She impresses me as a leader; not a follower.

You can tell Jennifer is different, not from the standpoint that she has Spina Bifida and has been in the chair for most of her life, but it shows in her attitude. It's positive; it exudes the qualities of leadership, not those of a follower…but those of a winner.

The youngster is back in her hometown of Hampton, in rural Calhoun County giving back to her community. After graduating from the U of Arkansas in Fayetteville (May 2006) with a degree in Psychology, Jennifer came back and joined VISTA. VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) places individuals with community-based agencies to help find long-term solutions to the problems caused by urban and rural poverty.

From that, Jennifer went to work for CareNet, another non-profit, volunteer based agency that helps people over 60 who are in low income brackets and/or are on Medicare, to stay in their homes and remain independent as long as possible. CareNet does things like build ramps to make houses wheelchair accessible, do some of those small do-it-yourself projects for its clients and even makes a run to fill a grocery list every now and again.

While working for a little bit of money (an existence stipend is all she gets) but she's getting valuable experience that carries no price tag.

If we backup to 2002 when Jennifer graduated from Hampton High where she played in the band, we'd find Jennifer and her best friend from 3rd grade on, Nicky Williams, getting ready for a move to Fayetteville. From small town Hampton (population 1600) to life in the big city, presented challenges.

How would they get along; how would they adapt? The girls did fine their freshman year, where Jennifer majored in Communications Disorders. Then Nicky decided Fayetteville wasn't the right place for her to be and she transferred to Conway to Central Baptist College. That left Jennifer alone in Fayetteville, but with one year's experience of having Nicky's help.

It was an opportunity for some personal growth once Jennifer was on her own.

At U of A, Jennifer used her music background to obtain a partial scholarship. She was a member of the Razorback Marching Band, The U of A Concert band and the Hogwild Basketball band. Once again, one would wonder how someone in a wheelchair could be a member of a marching band. She would sit near the drum pit where miscellaneous percussion players were and be a full part of the half-time show.

Earlier this year, Jennifer entered the Ms. Wheelchair Arkansas Pageant.
When asked why she entered, Jennifer cited two things, the encouragement that her mother and her VR counselor Butch Barnes had given her and the fact that Miss Arkansas 2004, Lacy Fleming was also from Hampton. She won the event and looks forward to a year of appearances and events as Ms. Wheelchair Arkansas.

What's in the cards for the future? For now, Jennifer plans on staying in Hampton another year and a half getting work experience and then returning to school for a Masters in Social Work. She lives on her own but isn't too worried about it. Her folks are only minutes away and her mother works just down the street from her. They see each other almost daily and surely talk on the phone if they don't see one-another. Jennifer glows when talking about her mom. "Mom keeps me organized, she's kinda like my manager. She helps keep it all together." You can tell they have a special relationship. "My parents are my biggest fans and I love them so much for there unending support," Jennifer said.

"You also have to remember that unlike Fayetteville, Hampton is a small town where everybody knows everybody," she says about living independently.
"I rent from a lady who's known me all my life. I knew her name but immediately knew who she was when I saw her face," Jennifer recalls comfortably. "I'm blessed to have parents who trust me enough to let me live independently but care enough to make sure they are there to help, when needed," Jennifer said.

Long-term, Jennifer's goal is to work with kids at a hospital like Arkansas Children's Hospital, St. Jude's in Memphis or Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville. But that will come a few years from now, after the Master's degree is on the wall.