Theresa A.
Superpower: Opening People's Eyes
“With a single story, Theresa can shift the way a person sees the world and themselves. No one leaves her presence unchanged.”
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Theresa's Story
In high school, she performed in a play about a woman with cerebral palsy. After the show, a classmate, six feet tall, walked over, looked down at her, and asked quietly: “We never treated you that way, did we?”
“Yeah,” she told him. “You did.”
“He more or less told me that I was showing him what he was doing, and it helped him realize it.”
— Theresa, on the moment that defined her superpower
That moment almost didn’t happen. Theresa wasn’t sure she even wanted to do the play. But when he asked her that question, she realized what she’d done without even trying, she’d held up a mirror, and he’d seen himself clearly for the first time. He got to know her. He changed.
Other classmates came forward too. One by one, the same words: “I didn’t know I treated you that way.”
“Yeah, you did,” she told them. Each time.
“Just because you have a disability doesn’t mean you’re an idiot or you’re not able to do stuff. You are able.”
— Theresa, Tri-Cities Superhero
Today, Theresa carries that same quiet power into every room she enters. She’s a mother, a grandmother of two, and someone who wants exactly what everyone else wants… a job, the ability to take care of her family, and the chance to be seen for who she is.
Her message to the Tri-Cities business community is direct: people with disabilities need to work too. They have families, bills, babies, grandchildren. There are not enough employers willing to look past what they see on the outside, and Theresa intends to keep saying so until that changes.
“We are who we are. Look beyond what you see on the outside. We are all the same — wants and needs. We want to be treated and seen. Like everyone else.”
— Theresa, speaking directly to employers in the Tri-Cities
Quick Facts
- Superpower: Opening People's Eyes
- Known For: A high school stage performance that changed how her classmates saw her and themselves
- Family: Mother and proud grandmother of two
- Mission: Advocating for employers to hire people with disabilities
Know someone like Theresa?
Every person has a superpower. Some just haven’t been asked about theirs yet.