Sara Koehnke '12 Represents Illinois at the Paralympics Held in Beijing China

Sara Koehnke glides like a gazelle as she moves through the traditional Pumphandle line. She, like the others, will shake hands with every other person on campus - and she does it without a right hand. Sara was born with only one hand, though it is no bother to her.

"This is who I am, and this is the way it is going to be. I'm pretty open about whatever you want to say, so I took a sharpie and wrote on my arm "Shake me" and then put my arm out there."

Koehnke interrupted her inaugural year at Knox to represent the state of Illinois at the Paralympics held in Beijing China. "It was a dream come true," said the Highland Park, Illinois resident.

Less than two weeks after the Olympic flame was extinguished at the Bird's Nest, Beijing was back in Games-mode for the gathering of disabled athletes at the 13th Paralympics. "Athletes compete by disability level in their events, and the focus is on the athlete and not on disability," she says.

Growing up no different
Koehnke says her parents refused to treat her differently than any other child. She still had to make her bed every morning. "The question was always how are you going to figure this out - like the monkey bars at school. My parents taught me how to do cartwheels. It was okay to try and figure something out."

Koehnke says, as a camp counselor for disabled kids, she is witness to the same challenges. "They understand that disability is just a word. You can do whatever you want to do. You just have to find different ways to adapt and different methods to do what your body can do."

It was Koehnke's years attending camp and growing into her counselor role that inspired her to apply and earned her placement as a representative for the Paralympics Academy at Beijing. "I have been involved in disabled programs since I was about seven years old and heard about the Paralympic Academy about four years ago."

It is more than 10 years since Koehnke first attended camp. She says she still volunteers as much as she can. "I like it; it is very fulfilling. I would love to continue my work with Paralympics Academy, but now I'm too old to be in the Paralympic Academy. If I want, I can start training to compete. I can only encourage people to be a part of it."

If she were to compete in the Paralympics, Koehnke says she would like to do fencing or swimming and track and field. "I am on the Knox Prairie Fire cross country team and hope to be on the track and field team later in the year."

Her Beijing Experience
"China was out of this world. We saw the closing ceremonies and the games were unbelievable. Paralympic events are just as competitive as the Olympics. I couldn't believe that people in the Paralympics could break world records. It was so intense. I have never been to a competition or a football game where people can be so against each other during the competition and then just having a good time. I thought that was crazy."

Every day, Koehnke and the other 27 United States representatives attended motivational speeches from coaches or athletes, attended competitions and visited sites like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. "It was pretty inspirational. There was so much packed into each day, and when I got back to the room, it was like ‘hello pillow.' I would do it again without a doubt."

Why Knox College?
When she isn't volunteering with the Paralympics Academy, Koehnke is catching up with studies at Knox. "I'm just trying to stay caught up and get involved in everything."

She says she selected Knox because of its neuroscience program and intends on majoring in neuroscience with a minor in psychology. Her overwhelming reason for coming to Knox was the high academic status of the college. "To get into medical school, my undergraduate experience needs to be challenging. I wanted something that can get me above all the other people who want to get into med school, too. A place I don't need to worry about weed-out classes, and I wanted faculty that are willing to help me. I wanted that kind of mentality."

• Represented Illinois in Paralympics in Beijing, China
• Hopes to meet the challenge of a neuroscience major

Sara Koehnke attended the Paralympics less than two weeks after the Olympic flame was extinguished at the Bird's Nest in Beijing, China.