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IU McKinney 3L Lizzie Ford wants people with disabilities to know that there are professionals in the legal field who will take a chance on them.

Her story—and advocacy—was published in a February 15 column for the Indiana Lawyer.

Ford details her decision to start law school during the COVID pandemic, struggling to adjust to hybrid and online law school classes, and the unique challenges she faced as a person with a disability.

“As a person with a disability who has dealt with the health care system routinely as a consumer, and as a recipient of a Master of Arts degree in clinical mental health counseling, I felt that pursuing health law would provide me with opportunities to help both patients and providers as the health care system can be difficult for both groups. As a result, I decided to push myself to do the best I could in classes in order to continue to pursue this passion,” she wrote.

At IU McKinney, Ford says she’s participated in “excellent” practical opportunities with Eskenazi Hospital as a Fehribach Center intern, working as an IU Health general counsel extern and working as an intern for Indiana Disability Rights. She also credits “amazing” IU McKinney Professors Brad Desnoyer and Nicolas Terry and others with supporting her during her law school experience.

“I hope that people with disabilities can see that there are people in the legal field who will take a chance on them, and I also hope legal professionals continue to do what many have done for me and support individuals with disabilities who work hard to pursue a career in this profession,” Ford wrote.