Next stop for Dade grad with palsy: Harvard

The story that you are about to read speaks volumes to our human potential. A very dear friend of mine had the pleasure of working with this young man during the past few years and employed various routines using aromatherapy, massage therapy, movement therapy and swimming. I hope that you will read this and be as touched as I was!

Kevin Mintz rolled his electric wheelchair up to the podium in the middle of the stage Friday. He looked down at his white graduation gown and then addressed the crowd, his speech slow and labored. The teenagers in the audience, buzzing with restless energy minutes earlier, quickly hushed.

In the front row, his parents held hands and smiled: Their son, who will never walk, who they once feared would never even talk, had risen to the top of his Robert Morgan Educational Center class -- and was tapped to address the student body at the Pharmed Arena at Florida International University.

Next, he is headed to Harvard on a full scholarship.

Kevin, 18, has cerebral palsy. He has limited use of his arms and legs, and has been in a wheelchair his entire life. It took 10 years of therapy for him to speak and be fully understood.

But Kevin was never discouraged by what others regard as a handicap. He excelled in school. He became an advocate for students with disabilities. He gained the respect and admiration of his classmates.

Friday marked his latest milestone.

''It was very rough at times, but when I was going through all of the traumatic stuff, I didn't feel like I was doing anything heroic or profound,'' Kevin said before his presentation. ``It just felt like something I needed to do for myself, to be considered normal.''

He paused.

``Although recently, I realized that normal is in the eye of the beholder.''

The youngest of four children, Kevin was born one month premature. The doctors said he was in distress before delivery, remembers Howard Mintz, his father.

Kevin was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 9 months old. He was unable to speak until after his third birthday.

But his parents were undeterred by the specialists' gloomy predictions of a life of limits for Kevin. The couple shuttled him back and forth from Gainesville for special surgeries to increase his mobility. They enrolled him in early intervention programs.

Once he began talking, his vocabulary grew at an extraordinary rate. By kindergarten, the adults around him were convinced he was gifted.

His mother fought to have him placed in a regular kindergarten class at Gloria Floyd Elementary School in Kendall. It was a time before ''mainstreaming'' was a common practice.

At school, Kevin needed help getting situated. A school-district assistant helped him maneuver around the building, handle his books and write assignments.

Still, the boy's passion for learning was evident.

''He couldn't open the doors or carry a backpack, but he loved being at school,'' his father said. ``He wasn't going to let his disability stop him.''

In middle school, Kevin shined. He took advanced courses in math, science, English and social studies. He joined the school paper and developed skills as a writer, despite his inability to physically put pen to paper.

''He was one of the most extraordinary writers I had ever had in class,'' newspaper advisor Mona Abramesco said.

SON'S ASSISTANT

Kevin's father, a semi-retired systems manager, left his job to become the boy's full-time assistant.

Kevin took the most challenging classes his school offered. His senior-year schedule included six Advanced Placement classes, ranging from art history to advanced calculus.

He never earned a grade lower than an A.

''When Kevin was in my class, he motivated me to go beyond what was on the page,'' said history teacher Bob Barnett. ``I wanted to go into debates. I wanted to go further.''

Outside the classroom, Mintz was asked to serve on Miami-Dade Superintendent Rudy Crew's special education advisory panel.

He also kept busy on weekends.

Kevin and his friends bonded over a love of movies and classic rock -- he's partial to Jefferson Airplane and the Beatles.

On one field trip to Walt Disney World, they rushed to Space Mountain, the park's biggest roller coaster. Upon realizing that the wheelchair-accessible line had a 30-minute wait, Kevin's friends hoisted him from his chair and carried him to the ride.

''We just picked him up and ran,'' said Francisco Gortes, 18. ``We didn't stop laughing.''

In the fall, Kevin applied to some of the country's top colleges. He was planning to attend Georgetown -- until he received an e-mail from Harvard.

At first, Kevin hesitated to read it, sure he had been rejected.

'The first words I read were `I am delighted,' '' he recalled. 'I thought to myself: `Why would they be delighted to reject me?' ''

When Kevin realized he had been accepted, he started screaming. He nearly tumbled out of his chair, he said.

More accolades followed.

He won a host of national awards, ranging from the Harvard Book Prize to the Disney Doers and Dreamers Award.

He was also named this year's Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald Silver Knight Award winner in social studies.

Next year will bring big changes. Kevin's father won't be in Cambridge to help his son at Harvard. Instead, Kevin will have a full-time assistant. Harvard is paying.

''I've never had a problem making friends, so I'm not nervous about being lonely,'' he said. ``I realize that there may be a little homesickness, though.''

FUTURE PLANS

Beyond Harvard, Kevin intends to be an attorney for people with disabilities. He hopes his work will break down the barriers disabled people face.

On Friday, Kevin urged his classmates to dream equally big dreams.

''When I have observed that change is needed, I have found the courage to speak up, even when surrounded by silence,'' he said. ``I challenge everyone to have the inner strength and courage to liberate themselves from anything that encumbers them.''

As Kevin delivered the address -- he had committed it to memory -- his parents mouthed the words from memory, too. His peers interrupted three times with thunderous applause.

When Kevin had finished, his classmates rose to their feet and cheered.

Kevin was beaming.

''This,'' his father said, ``is only the beginning.''