Alexandra McArthur, Ms. Wheelchair America 2011

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Alexandra McArthur, a Davidson College employee who lives in Charlotte, was crowned Ms. Wheelchair America 2011 Saturday in the finals of a weeklong pageant in Grand Rapids, Mich. Ms. McArthur was among 28 contestants from around the country vying for the title.

On Sunday, she was still “in shock” after Saturday night’s ceremony, where judges first announced runners-up and then declared her Ms. Wheelchair America for the coming year.

“I think I’m a little overwhelmed, a little bit in shock, but extremely honored,” the 22-year-old said in a telephone interview. “It means a lot to have been chosen from such incredible women. I’m looking forward to being out in public.”

FOCUS ON EMPLOYMENT

For the next year, Ms. McArthur will be a national spokesperson, working both here in North Carolina and elsewhere to educate people about disability issues and advocate for legislation, solutions and awareness. Her winning platform focuses on employment and improving the workplace for people with disabilities.

Alexandra McArthur in her Davidson College office (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Ms. McArthur graduated cum laude from Davidson College in 2009 and now works as a fellow in the college’s Chidsey Center for Leadership Development.

She notes that last month was the 20th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), and said she wants to spread the word to employers that fears about the cost of accommodating disabled workers are unnecessary. It’s often cheaper and easier than employers expect, she said. In some cases, changes may be as simple as a special chair or computer monitor, a push-button doorway, or making a pamphlet available in braille.

Just as important, she says, is the opportunity for people with and without disabilities to interact in the workplace. She says “meaningful inclusion” can help both understand one another. “My being employed gives my coworkers access to something they wouldn’t have otherwise,” she said. That is, “to have continued contact with people with disabilities, in a day-by-day, very practical way.”

HER DISABILITY

Ms. McArthur has been using a wheelchair for three years. As a junior at Davidson, she was planning to study abroad in Bristol, England, but her muscular dystrophy was progressing. Although she was still reasonably mobile, her legs and hips were weakening, and she knew a wheelchair would make travel easier.

Even today, she said it’s hard to think of herself as a person in a wheelchair. So she was hesitant about entering the state Ms. Wheelchair competition this year.

“I struggled with whether to enter the pageant, and putting the label of someone who uses a wheelchair on myself,” Ms. McArthur said in an interview last month. “To claim it in such a public way was interesting.”

Her sister, Park McArthur (Davidson class of ’06) also has MD and uses a wheelchair. Alexandra said it’s rare for siblings to share the disease.

PICKED AS FINALIST

In the state and national pageants, competitors are judged on their achievements, advocacy platforms, presentations and their ability to communicate to the public, the business community and lawmakers.

Ms. McArthur entered and won the Ms. Wheelchair North Carolina crown at an April competition in Asheville. She raised the $1,500 entry for this weekend’s pageant from family and friends, as well as a grant from the Wachovia/Wells Fargo Foundation.

In Grand Rapids, she and fellow contestants joined a week of activities that allowed them to bond and to learn about one another’s disabilities and platforms. There were workshops on the ADA and other issues, and a “fun-day” in Grand Rapids that included a visit to the Gerald Ford Museum and a photo scavenger hunt around town in teams.

Contestants gave their platform speeches Friday night, and then Saturday night, judges named her as one of five finalists.

Next came two rounds of questions. The first asked how she would include the issue of veterans with disabilities in her platform. She talked about the importance of including veterans in her advocacy, and how she would work with those at Fort Bragg, N.C., and at other bases.

Alex posed Saturday night Owen Fitzpatrick (Davidson '09), who traveled with her to Michigan. (Glen Lipton photo)

Then judges asked what activity she would like to see adapted for people in wheelchairs.

“I said badminton,” she said Sunday. “Before the onset of MD, I played tennis. And as my body became weaker, I adapted to playing badminton and ping pong. I think badminton would be a very adaptable sport.” She said rackets are already relatively light, nets could be lowered, and the sport could be played on a solid surface so that people with wheelchairs could join.

Ms. McArthur’s parents, Margaret Herman (Davidson ’79) and John McArthur (Davidson ’77) of Cary, N.C., watched the pageant on an internet videocast, she said. They were not able to travel to Michigan because they helping Alex’s sister, Park, move to New York City to begin a nine-month fellowship at the Whitney Museum of Art.

So Alexandra traveled to Michigan with her boyfriend, Owen Fitzpatrick, also a 2009 Davidson grad. On Sunday, they were heading across the Midwest, hoping to get back in time for work Monday. Freshman orientation at Davidson begins Wednesday, and Ms. McArthur wants to be back and ready.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE, RELATED LINKS

Aug. 13, 2010, “Davidson woman pursues Ms. Wheelchair America title.”

Ms. Wheelchair America website

Ms. Wheelchair North Carolina website

Davidson College Chidsey Center for Leadership Development

Americans With Disabilities Act home page, ada.gov