Taking the `Dis' out of Disability: Carmen Jones Triumphed over a Crippling Car Accident to Build a Marketing Firm Serving Disabled Consumers. (Guts & Glory)

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In 1986, Carmen Jones, then a junior at Hampton University in Virginia, was returning to campus after Thanksgiving break when a horrible car accident changed her life forever Jones would never walk again, despite six months of hospitalization and intensive rehabilitation.

Scared, frustrated, and seriously hurt, both physically and emotionally, Jones vowed never to return to school. But she did. Through the inspiration of Hampton University president, William g. Harvey, her parents, and friends, Jones not only returned, but graduated with honors, earning a bachelor's degree in marketing. One of the lessons she learned was not to give up or believe that some things just can't be done.

Harvey, who had seen Jones on campus, as well as at the Hampton University Memorial Church, which …