HER ETERNAL GLORY
“JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, I’D NEVER EVEN SEEN A STAR. NOW,
WHEN I LOOK UP IN THE SKY, I CAN SEE SOME OF THE BIGGER STARS. IT’S AMAZING.”
This is what you’ll probably say when you get your vision back. This was
quoted by an American Paralympic Swimmer Trischa Zorn Hudson after her sight
was improved. Meet Trischa Zorn, born without irises and was hence blind by
birth. She was born on June 1, 1964 in Orange, California.
Trischa began
swimming at the age of 10 at the Mission
Viejo Nadadores swim club in Southern California. and just six years later made her Paralympic debut
at the Arnhem
1980 Paralympic Games in the Netherlands. She won seven gold medals in her
debut Paralympic games and set three world records. Thereafter, she went on
further to create numerous records and
today she is regarded as the most successful and decorated Paralympians ever. The American competed at seven Paralympic Games between 1980
and 2004 and won an incredible 55 medals (41 gold, nine silver and five
bronze). She competed in Paralympic swimming (S12, SB12 and SM12 disability
categories). She was inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame in
2012.
Her contributions were not just restricted to the pool , She wanted to
educate and motivate the disabled people in the United States. She wanted that
all of them should find the purpose of their life and work accordingly and
strive for excellence. She is seen as a guiding source of light for the blind
in the United States. She has taught for ten years since 2001 in Indianapolis
Public schools as an Elementary Education Major (Special Education). She
developed an Inclusionary Model to help students integrate with regular
classroom experience and advance the opportunities and experiences of children
with special needs.
In a popular interview to the Los Angeles Times in 1995 , Trischa Zorn said,
“I thought with what I have overcome with my disability that if I could just
reach these children in the inner city … that I could be a good role model for
them and that would satisfy me.” In 1993, she was named female athlete of the
year by the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes, and in 1994 was named one of
the nation’s top 10 female athletes of the year by the USOC. Eighteen years
later, in 2012, she was inducted as the first American woman into the Visa
Paralympic Hall of Fame. She even has a national award by her name. The United
States awards the annual Trischa L. Zorn award to the swimmer with disability
who has achieved national or international excellence. She ended her career on
a winning note in 2004 Paralympic games held at Athens, Greece.
She is the first congenital disabled person in the United States to
undergo an artificial iris implantation. Her vision improved significantly
after the surgery and saw the world for the first time. With her vision being
accelerated continuously, she went on to become a lawyer and completed her
Juris Doctor degree from the Indiana Law University in 2005. When asked about
her charity work she says that she always wanted to affect people’s life positively and that was her
passion. She also served as the USABA on Board of Directors from 2005 to 2016
and currently is working as an attorney for the Department of Veterans Affairs
in the Fiduciary Unit.
Trischa Zorn can be seen as one of the most successful blind person in
the recent times. She has shown us that with a strong will one can achieve what
once seemed impossible. She can be seen as a shining star, a star unaware of its
eternal glory which is a source of inspiration for us.
- Shreyas J Kadam.
