"It wasn't pretty or graceful, but I made it," Denise Hintermeister told The Catholic Messenger of her walk across the stage to collect her St. Ambrose Bachelor of Elected Studies degree on Dec. 17 at the RiverCenter in Davenport.
Graceful? Perhaps not.
Grace-filled? Absolutely.
Hintermeister sometimes struggles to walk or even leave her home in the aftermath of a debilitating fall at her home in 2008. The resulting health issues slowed her progress toward completing her pursuit of a St. Ambrose degree. But they did not — could not — stop her.
Through online courses facilitated by SAU's ACCEL program and the assistance of the SAU Office for Student Disability Services, the working wife and mother worked determinedly to earn that grace-filled walk to and across the stage.
"They wanted to make sure I reached my goal," she said of academic adviser Laurie Harrison '06 MOL and Director of Disability Services Ryan Saddler '96, '06 MEdT and his staff. "The whole team was fabulous. If it wasn't for them, I would not have walked down that aisle."
Hintermeister does not bemoan the fall that altered her life. The grace that guides comes from her faith and positivity.
"I could have been a quadriplegic or dead," she said. "My life changed, but I thank God every day."
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