Student triumphs to gain PhD

Ten years ago, Mark Sherry survived a near-fatal car accident, sustaining horrific injuries, including a permanent brain injury and internal damage.

Tomorrow [Wednesday, December 11 at 6pm], he will graduate from The University of Queensland with a doctorate in Social Work and Social Policy – the culmination of sheer determination and will to succeed.

Dr Sherry completed his PhD in three years. During this time he underwent a number of operations, coped with the frequent seizures that are the result of his brain injury, gave a keynote address at an international conference, tutored and lectured undergraduate students, and become a champion of the rights of people with a disability.

His PhD thesis, If Only I Had a Brain, examined the experience of brain injury in terms of disability, impairment, identity and embodiment. His research drew on his own circumstances as well as that of others.

Dr Sherry and his wife Jenny are now living in the US, where he is undertaking the inaugural Ed Roberts Post Doctoral Fellowship at the University of California Berkley.

The late Ed Roberts was the founder of the Independent Living Movement and played a major role in helping people with a disability attend university. Only 15 of the commemorative fellowships will be awarded over the next five years, and Dr Sherry is the first recipient.

(By coincidence, Dr Sherry and his wife are currently renting an apartment in Berkley where Ed Roberts once lived.)

Dr Sherry will be in Australia to attend tomorrow night’s graduation ceremony.

PhD co-supervisor, Dr Margaret Shapiro, said Dr Sherry was extraordinarily determined.

“Mark is a very special person – he brought a lot of joy to people at the School of Social Work and Social Policy. He challenged us in many ways,” she said.

To accommodate his needs, the School equipped a special office for Dr Sherry, which included a bed. It was also within hearing distance of academic staff, in case he collapsed during a seizure and needed assistance.

“Mark overcame enormous odds to gain his PhD,” Dr Shapiro said. “He suffered terrible injuries, that are severe and ongoing. He demonstrated a triumph of the spirit.

“I think that some of the hardest won successes are the best that one can have. Mark provided an excellent learning ground about determination, physical disability and carrying on, for his supervisors as well as students and staff at the School.”

Dr Lesley Chenoweth, Dr Sherry’s principal PhD supervisor, said his insider perspective produced a unique study of the experiences of people with disabilities.

“Mark’s thesis has been very favourably received. Through his research and personal experiences, he has become a champion of the rights of people with disabilities worldwide. His postdoctoral research at Berkeley continues this research, examining the link between disabilities and hate crimes.

“Mark has incredible commitment to his work and an enormous capacity to put in long hours – I don’t know how he does it. Mark is good at networking and linking people with similar ideas. He is very supportive of other people working in disability projects, and has taken on the role of mentoring with several young scholars with disabilities”.

Dr Chenoweth recently visited Dr Sherry at Berkeley.

“He’s already made quite an impact at Berkley. He delivered his first public lecture on disabilities and hate crimes that received a lot of publicity around the San Francisco area.

“He has that rare gift of making bridges between the academia and the community through his research, teaching and community roles.”

Before his injury, Dr Sherry completed a BA (Honours) and MA (Political Science) at The University of Queensland.

He has written a book on the SEQEB labour dispute, and a musical called Dating is Dangerous that has been performed in 1998 in Brisbane.

For more information, contact Dr Mark Sherry (telephone 3279 0962 or 0402 413 705), Dr Margaret Shapiro (telephone 3365 2121), Dr Lesley Chenoweth (telephone 3365 1252), or Ms Beth O’Brien, Marketing and Communications Officer, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (telephone 3365 8820).