Finding her voice

If there’s a recurring theme to Cishella Durling’s past, it’s not feeling seen or heard. That’s probably why she ended up in advocacy – so she could finally use her voice.

The incoming graduate student created her own undergraduate degree through UofL’s individualized major program, centering in on disability studies and advocacy in order to make sure that all voices – including those of disabled persons like Durling herself – are prevalent on campus and in society.

“It’s about us Cardinals looking at each other and saying I see you. I see you in all your beautiful brilliance and glory, and not denying that just because you function in this world differently doesn’t mean I have to marginalize you,” she said.

Durling noticed early on that something was different with her body. It ached. A lot.

“I have always hurt. Since I was I child I would complain about headaches, backaches, back pain, just everything,” she said. But because she was so active and determined to keep up with her siblings her pain was often dismissed. After injuring her knee during her first semester of college, doctors finally suggested a surgery to fix it. Then another. Then her knee pain moved to her hip. Then her back.

After several – 25, in fact – procedures, including three ACL reconstructions and two hip surgeries, doctors determined Durling has a connective tissue disorder, possibly Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and possibly genetic. In Durling’s case, along with the pain, the disorder affects her mobility. Flare-ups can be devastating, making it hard for her to walk and requiring a cane or a mobility device.

As she battled her physical health, Durling also wrestled mentally and in her personal life. She tried out two colleges and struggled to find the support she needed. She lacked assistance from family members. All the while, she fought with feeling like no one was listening to her or seeing her.

Then she ended up at UofL. She originally came to Kentucky after a difficult divorce and landed under the same roof as her sister, who is deaf, has Down Syndrome and has symptoms of the same connective tissue disorder Durling has. When Durling decided to attend UofL as a single mother, she thought she wanted to be an interpreter and enrolled in UofL’s American Sign Language program.

She initially found barriers at UofL, partly related to challenges with how people viewed her disability. She thought the university could do better, so she told them. Through that experience, she found a passion for advocating on behalf of herself and others.

“As somebody who’s experienced marginalization because of my status as a disabled person, it has been frustrating to see people that I truly love and truly care about who exist even on the further margins, just not have the access,” she said. “And so, I thought if I can create a program that allows me to understand disability, I can gain insight on how to help create policy changes that will impact the community in ways that will empower them.”

So Durling switched to an individualized major, built her disability studies and advocacy program and set out to spread the word.

“I want this institution to really take so seriously that disabled voices need to be in the room,” she said. “I’m grateful that they’ve allowed me to have the conversations, be raw, be vulnerable, and say my experience has been adverse in some ways and we can’t just leave the bar here and be compliant. I want to challenge that bare minimum.”

UofL gave Durling space to use her voice. Not only is she an advocate for disability issues, but she serves as president of the Student-Parent Association and she and her son are participants in Family Scholar House. She also is a voice for all students through her former work study job as host of the Student Affairs Podcast Series.

Durling joined the Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities in fall 2023 and had the opportunity to share her message in Frankfort as she participated in the Kentucky Partners in Policy program, which she graduated from this past May. As an Ambassador for Louisville Metro Office for Women, she has a passion for using her voice to advocate on a local level as well. She will get her chance to continue challenging the system as she begins a master’s degree in applied philosophy health care ethics at UofL in fall 2024.

“I am so excited to continue this discussion at the University of Louisville because for me it’s personal, but it’s not even just about me. I’’s about so many of the people that I have met here on campus who I just adore,” she said. “It’s easy to fall in love with people at UofL. Can it be a little bit more difficult to get them to move? Yes. But there are so many people with such good intentions and big hearts, and I see that’s the power of post-secondary education and that’s why I want it to be accessible to individuals who are disabled.”

“All of the interconnected experiences of disabled people, including our education, contribute to our health and our outcomes,” she added. “As a society we need to stop diminishing the abilities of those we label as disabled, because we truly have so much to offer. I’m glad to have been a participant in this individualized major – this program is phenomenal, and I couldn’t speak more highly of it.”