For Sandra Howery, a Sacramento State student who has gone through 10 back surgeries and 17 years of college, being able to say that she is graduating in the spring is a huge accomplishment.

This year she is one of the 23 recipients of the William Randolph Hearst/California State University scholarship for outstanding achievement. The award is given to students who demonstrate superior academic achievements, contributions to the community, leadership on campus and the ability to persevere and overcome obstacles in life.

Anne Gillespie Brown, director of foundation programs and services for the CSU Foundation Board, said a winner from each of the 23 CSU campuses is chosen for the scholarship each year. Scholarship winner receive a $3,000 award.

Brown said Sandra received the award because she “has an excellent GPA of 3.60, has been involved in many university organizations, regularly volunteers at a number of places including the Ethel Hart Senior Center, and also volunteers yearly for the Special Olympics.”

Two years after graduating high school, Howery started working as a nursing assistant in Maryland in 1989. After working there a few years, Howery was diagnosed with a ruptured disc in her back.

In 1991, she decided she wanted to go back to school to work towards an associate degree in mental health and developmental disabilities, and then eventually a bachelor’s degree in recreational therapy.

“My first semester back, my back went out again and I ended up with another ruptured disc in 1991,” Howery said. She then underwent her second laminectomy. Four days after waking up from the surgery, she still felt excruciating pain, so she went back only to find that the disc had ruptured again.

Finally, Howery’s doctors found that there was no longer a disc to fix, so she decided to turn to John Hopkins Hospital in 1993 for her first spinal fusion.

“During that, the doctors left bone chips in my spine, which pressed against my nerves and, in turn, it paralyzed my foot,” she said. “So after five months my little toe started working a little, but my foot only came back to about 60 percent and I had to learn to walk again.”

Howery tried to take a full load of classes at school throughout her years in and out of surgery. “Physically, I just couldn’t handle it; and probably mentally, too. Part of the healing process is mental. That’s why it took me 14 years to get an associate degree,” she said.

After moving to Las Vegas and attending University of Nevada, Las Vegas to major in therapeutic recreation, Howery found that they did not offer the program she wanted. That is when she found Sac State.

“I started here in spring 2006 and I’ve just been going full time. I graduate in May,” Howery said.

After 10 surgeries, including four spinal fusions, Howery was finally able to fully focus on getting her degree. At the end of the spring 2008 semester she will receive her bachelor’s degree in recreation administration with a concentration in therapeutic recreation and a minor in gerontology.

“One thing I’ve learned through my gerontology classes and one thing they say over and over is, when working with clients, work on their strengths and not weaknesses. That’s what I did with myself, and I learned to leave the past behind and move on. I had to tell myself not to let my disability stop me,” Howery said.

Brown said Sandra demonstrated her genuine nature at the awards ceremony in Long Beach.

“When she came here, another recipient was a young, blind woman with a seeing eye dog. Sandra automatically gravitated to her and helped her navigate all day through that entire ceremony,” Brown said. “In addition to the warmth she shows to people when she meets them, you can watch her reaching out to people who have special needs and for that I admire her.”

Lisa Jorgensen, assistant professor in the Department of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration said, “Sandra did not come by these achievements without some challenges in her personal life. Many in her position would not have attempted the level of achievement she has pursued, and in particular, many would not have risen to the occasion as Sandra has done this year.”

Howery says that her strength comes from her mother who died when Howery was 6 years old.

“I could have easily turned to drugs and alcohol, and instead I turned to school and sports. I always thought that’s what my mom would want and that’s what kept me going,” Howery said.

Howery said receiving this scholarship has been a blessing.

“It meant the world to me,” she said. “I’m 46 years old and I feel like winning that scholarship was the first time someone patted me on the back. At 46 I finally told myself to live life for myself and that’s what the scholarship did for me. Now I’m moving forward and looking toward the future.”

Tammy Nazanda can be reached at [email protected]