(By KYRIOS LONIGRO)

If you have ever set foot on the Texas State University-San Marcos campus, you have likely seen Catherine Wicker. Her typical outfit is simple: a long Gamma Phi Beta shirt, a pair of shorts, sneakers, and a long blonde ponytail.

Catherine is an organizer at Central Texas Interfaith. She was a field organizer for Texas Rising, has been involved with local political campaigns, is a teacher’s assistant, and continues to learn as a graduate student.

She knows that her appearance can be misleading. “I look and act like a sorority girl.”

Catherine’s disability, like her work, is not first suspected when folks set eyes on her.

Catherine has ulcerative colitis, a gastrointestinal disease that requires frequent doctor’s visits and medication. If not careful with her nutritional intake, she can easily find herself in the hospital.

Catherine’s disability is invisible to many. “I constantly have to fight for access to things like accommodations. It’s really difficult because people don’t always understand that.”

Her non-verbal learning disorder has provided similar hurdles. “It’s impacted me in leadership positions.” She adds that her bluntness has been weaponized against her to make her seem like a bad person.

“Especially with disabilities you can’t see, it’s a lot easier for people to have their prejudices,” she says, also pointing out that people will use ableist or offensive language without realizing that they are speaking to a person with a disability.

This lack of understanding has led some people to yell at Catherine for parking in a handicapped spot. Even though she needed it, she decided not to renew it because she was tired of the verbal assaults.

This ability to pass as able-bodied has created a complicated sense of self. “I’m never fully at the table but I’m never fully looking through the glass.”

Acknowledging her disability has been a struggle because people are afraid of using that word. She’s tired of people calling disability a “special issue” or “blessing in disguise” rather than acknowledging it for what it is. “Using the word disabled is okay,” she says.

This past year has been difficult for her. “I second guessed myself a lot. There’s been a lot of spaces that I haven’t had cheerleaders.”

While she faces adversity, her friend Ethen Pena describes her as resilient and natural organizer. “She is constantly striving to fix all of the world’s problems simply for the good of the world.”

While she said she has thought about giving up multiple times, her anger is what keeps her driven. ”I have cold anger – I won’t yell and spew hate. I’m a cold anger where I know things need to change.”

While Catherine may not look like she is disabled, her disability affects every aspect of her life. However, she remains encouraged because she knows there is important work to be done.

She helps those in need, advocates for people with disabilities, and registers voters all while trying to maintain her own heath. “I think as a society in this ableist world we have to think in a mindset thinking that we have to do all these things.”

Catherine made herself sick by trying to act, dress, and be like those around her. She hopes that by having honest conversations about disability, society can remove the harmful stigmas that make life difficult and inaccessible for people like her.