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Graduate Nancy Stevens and Dani are a Team at Peak Performance
Nancy Stevens and Dani hike on Mount Massive in Colorado
"It's such an exciting feeling to make it to the top!" graduate Nancy Stevens of Frisco, Colorado says with enthusiasm. And she has, in many areas.
Ms. Stevens, who holds a degree in music education from Kalamazoo College in Michigan, is an athlete, actress and advocate for disabled people.
She says, "I came to Colorado in 1984 to be a ski bum for a year. I retired from downhill skiing and worked as a vocational counselor. Now I run a program in the central mountain region for people with disabilities. We assist them with jobs and living skills and act as consultants on the Americans with. Disabilities Act."
The program, High Country Options, began as a pilot project over two years ago, funded by a state grant. It now receives support from local towns and foundations.
On stage, Ms. Stevens appeared as Emma Sarah, a ghost, in a Denver Center for the Performing Arts' production of Fiddler on the Roof last summer.
She usually measures 4'11" but says, "They had me stand on somebody's electric wheelchair, so I was about seven feet tall. My dress covered the wheelchair, so it looked like I was floating on stage."
Ms. Stevens also is an avid outdoorsperson. She trained for the United States Disabled Cross Country Ski Team, and hikes and backpacks regularly. Last fall, she and Dani completed a three-day hike on Mount Massive, a 14,000-foot peak, with two friends. "It's fun and a challenge," she says. "It's the way to see the mountains out here, and Dani just loves it."
Dani, a Golden Retriever, is her first Seeing Eye dog. She and Ms. Stevens have been traveling together since 1988.
"I met a woman graduate of The Seeing Eye my first year in Denver," Ms. Stevens says. "I was very intimidated crossing a street and asked this woman for help." Ms. Stevens admits that this chance encounter altered her life. "The thing that Dani has changed most for me," she says, "is enabling me to hike more independently. She's a good worker. There are few sidewalks here, so it's nice to have her. There's a safety factor, and she's a great companion.
"I had a collapsible cane I named Fred and took to Germany with me for my junior year of college, but Dani's been a better addition to my life. She'd rather go hiking than to work!"