had my accident because I realized that the most important thing in the world is being alive, because that can change in seconds.” Seven years after his accident, Juan graduated with his law degree with a focus on defending injured people. He served on many boards in Venezuela and was also a sociology and law professor as well as served as the director of the Law School at the Instituto Universitario Politecnico. His passion for helping people is apparent and he mentioned that he also wants to help his colleagues who are coming from Venezuela to the United States to find employment that matches what they did in Venezuela. He understands the struggle of what it is like to have to start a new career, including the education piece. Due to the volatile situation in Venezuela, he chose to move to Florida and had to begin the law school process all over again on his 20th year of practicing law in Venezuela at the age of 45! During this time, he worked as a Case Manager at the Orlando based law firm of Payas, Payas, & Payas. In 2010, he finished his law degree but it was not an easy feat, he had to work through a language barrier and a competitive evaluation system, yet he still did not give up. Although there were many challenges, Juan received his license to practice law in Florida on April 25, 2012 and has been helping many people with their personal injury cases in the South Orlando area. When asked to offer advice to someone facing a disability Juan said, “In the beginning, it is something new, and when you have a disability you have to accept the fact that you are disabled, maybe not in the way where people think that you cannot do anything. It doesn’t make me a second class citizen, but I do have to recognize that I may not be able to do things like I use to.” As someone who constantly is helping out others, he provides advice to young professionals to “never let the disability be an obstruction or an obstacle for the job interview, because what you will be required to do will be with your brain.” He went on to share that you have to know and understand your limitations and find an opportunity that would work best for you. For employers, who may be skeptical of hiring someone with a disability he said, “there are so many kinds of disabilities, but if the disability is not a limitation for the job to be performed, then I would ask the employer, are you human? The other person is human as well. Would you want your kids to be limited?” Looking back, Juan asked himself “Why did this happen” and that he now knows that his mission was to help people with disabilities. Currently, he helps clients who have been injured in car accidents. “Being a person who has already went through that makes it easier for them to accept me and for me to understand them.” Juan shared that he wants to write a book to spread the message “No matter what minority categories you may fall in, you can reach whatever you want as long as you continue to reach for it.” Enables persons with disabilities to participate in a fishing event on a regular basis throughout the year. Go online for upcoming tournament dates & locations in AmeriDisability Jul/Aug 2017 Florida. BECOME A CONTRIBUTOR AmeriDisability magazine welcomes article submissions and story ideas. Promote an upcoming event, share an inspiring story or suggest industry news topics regarding people with disabilities. Contact us at info@AmeriDisabilityServices.com 25 www.disabledanglers.org
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