GW senior Corbb O’Connor has packed an incredible amount into his years in Foggy Bottom. From leading tours of the U.S. Capitol to working for Mount Vernon Campus Life, the political communication and economics major is taking full advantage of his time at George Washington.
Blind since birth, O’Connor, who navigates campus with the help of his guide dog, Phoenix, is a recipient of the Mei Yuen Hoover Scholarship for students with disabilities. The scholarship was established in 1999 with a $1 million bequest from Mei Yuen Hoover, BA ’45, who earned a degree in history from GW’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences. Hoover, who passed away in 1999, experienced various physical limitations throughout her life and was deeply committed to helping others with disabilities. An endowed fund, the Hoover Scholarship provides annual support to undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities enrolled in Columbian College.
“Thanks to the Hoover Scholarship, my family has been able to send me to one of the nation’s most prestigious universities,” O’Conner said. “It’s reassuring for me as a blind student to be able to focus on typical student concerns, like getting my textbooks, finding the right classes, and making friends, instead of on how to pay my tuition bills.”
O’Connor, who chose GW for its location as well as for the fact that “the type of student who goes to GW doesn’t think it’s weird to talk about academics outside the classroom,” is making the most of his experience in the nation’s capital. “GW’s premier location has made gaining experience in politics and journalism extremely easy,” he said. “Whether it’s going to Capitol Hill to lobby Congress, transcribing speeches for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s press office, writing scripts for MSNBC, or, most recently, producing public radio stories for the show Marketplace, finding a job should be much easier since I already have some experience.”
A member of GW’s Disability Support Services Speakers Bureau, O’Connor is also helping to pave the way for fellow students with disabilities at the University. “Working on the speakers bureau has been a great way to teach others about people with disabilities,” he says. “Often people treat those with disabilities at the extremes—as ‘special’ and ‘different,’ or they forget about the accommodations that need to be made for some folks. Through the speakers bureau, we help create environments that fall somewhere in the middle…inclusive but not overbearing.”
On target to graduate in December 2010, O’Connor plans to pursue a career in radio journalism, blending politics and economics. “This summer, I had the opportunity to intern at Marketplace, a show that airs on more than 500 public radio stations around the country, where we worked to make the financial news understandable and usable to the Wall Street trader as well as the mom driving her kids home from school. Working there excited me and helped me see that my talents lie in that field. The Hoover Scholarship has put me closer to obtaining that dream job.”
Rachel Schreibman is another recipient of GW’s Mei Yuen Hoover Scholarship. The GW art therapy graduate student is using her own experience with kidney disease to enrich the lives of others. Researching the national waiting list several years ago, she was appalled to learn that more than 100,000 people were awaiting life-saving organ transplants, and hundreds of thousands more were on dialysis because of kidney failure. “It’s been my dream ever since to help other people with kidney disease by using art therapy as a means for self-exploration and healing,” she said.
“Thanks to this incredible support, I will soon be starting a career in a field that I am extremely passionate about that centers on helping others. I am so grateful for having the opportunity to do something I excel at, that I love, and that makes a positive impact on people who need support.”
A highlight of Schreibman’s graduate studies was creating and implementing a yearlong art therapy internship at a local dialysis unit. “Working with the patients there was a profound experience. People on dialysis spend an average of 12 hours per week receiving treatment, and this, along with other consequences of their illnesses, has a huge impact on their lives. By bringing art therapy to the bedside of these individuals, I was able to provide a meaningful activity during time that is often spent sleeping or watching television.”
Now in the final semester of her graduate program, Schreibman plans to ultimately start her own art therapy practice or center for people experiencing illness and disability. “My time at GW has been a life-changing and truly satisfying experience that has prepared me to go out and make a difference in the lives of others with illness and disability. The Hoover Scholarship has been a pay-it-forward award that has touched many lives and will hopefully touch many more.”
photo by Jessica McConnell
This article was excerpted from a story by Jamie L. Freedman for GW Magazine.
For information about ways to support students like Rachel Schreibman and Corbb O'Connor, contact Barbara Tesner at 202-994-5432 or btesner@gwu.edu.
GW senior Corbb O’Connor has packed an incredible amount into his years in Foggy Bottom. From leading tours of the U.S. Capitol to working for Mount Vernon Campus Life, the political communication and economics major is taking full advantage of his time at George Washington. 
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