Some things are hard to explain because they are so simple.
But Rachel Morrow does a great job of saying exactly why her son, Nicholas Morrow, inspires joy in others.
“Without saying a word, Nicholas brings out the best in others,” she says. “He is the best teacher of life lessons that I know.”
Nicholas Morrow (Class of 2014) is nonverbal and visually impaired, and he has cerebral palsy. He uses a wheelchair and receives support from a caregiver, Sonya Sanchez. However, he still goes to work every day as a crossing guard for Mabel Rush Elementary School in the mornings and afternoons, Monday to Friday, regardless of chilly sleet or sweltering sun.
“They did it all last year, rain or shine, with the best attitude,” Rachel Morrow said.
Many people in the school community have seen the pair with frequency, and it’s always a treat. Sanchez waves enthusiastically with a mile-wide smile. (To help him out, she became an official Newberg-Dundee volunteer, although she technically works for the Morrow family as his caregiver.) Sanchez and Nicholas Morrow’s goal is not necessarily to bring happiness to passersby. Their aim is to protect the K-5 kids traveling before and after school who sometimes step into the crosswalks linking Deborah Road and Haworth Avenue.
Despite that essential and crucial purpose, the end result seems to be not only greater safety but for driver after driver and walker after walker to wave back and emerge from that intersection with a grin as wide as Sanchez’s.
While Sanchez preferred to stay quiet, the Morrow family had plenty to say in support of this strong, kind woman.
“She has the best attitude, and I know that she’s super enthusiastic and the kids like her,” Rachel Morrow said. “I help my son with his crossing guard shift on only Friday afternoons. I remember the first couple of weeks the kids would ask me — Are you the sub? — because they were expecting Sonya! … She’s super-friendly and outgoing, and the kids are always waving when I’m there because Sonya has started that trend.”
Nicholas Morrow may not be able to speak to or wave at others, but his presence has a great impact.
“I’ve heard from his supervisor that other people with disabilities are seeing him and saying, ‘Hey, if he can do this, I can work too!’” Rachel Morrow said
Sanchez and Nicholas Morrow have been stationed at the intersection since the fall of last year, and it all came about because the Morrow family is always looking for ways to get Nicholas Morrow more engaged in the community.
He’s been in the School District for a long time, even attending preschool here. He then went on to attend Dundee Elementary School and Chehalem Valley Middle School before enrolling in Newberg-Dundee Public School's Support Advocacy for Independence in Life (SAIL) program. He graduated at the age of 21. SAIL is for students, ages 18 to 21, who experience disability and are seeking to gain more life skills to become more independent.
Nicholas Morrow is now 27 years old, and his mom wanted to give him an opportunity to be more independent, to work.
“As his mom and his advocate, I’m like, well, yes, he should be able to work, and what can he do?” Rachel Morrow said.
Being a person in a wheelchair who is sight impaired does make it hard for him to work, though. However, his mom believed she could find a way, and she did. She may have a greater understanding of what’s not impossible as an Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education Specialist for the Willamette Education Service District (WESD). (The WESD provides services to school districts including Newberg-Dundee.)
But she’s always been resourceful too. Through her own resourcefulness and determinedness to help (and with support from the state program Vocational Rehab), she discovered Mid-Valley Advancements, which helps adults who experience disability to find enriching opportunities including employment. Mid-Valley Advancements helped her find the work that she needed in a place that would welcome her son.
“He’s serving a need,” Rachel Morrow said. “In this era of not enough employees, we should be hiring more people with special needs!”
The arrangement has gone well, with Nicholas Morrow becoming almost like a local celebrity for his local and paid job.
“People remember him and they tell me, ‘I see your son all the time,’” she said. “Some people even offer him money. I say, oh, no, he gets paid for this!”
Rachel Morrow said that people are always complimenting how supportive she and her husband, Chad, are as parents, but in many ways, their son has simpler needs than his younger sister, Gabrielle, who does not experience disability.
“They’re always complimenting us and I always feel like we just do what any parent would do, I hope,” she said. “I just think that it’s a blessing to have Nicholas, although some people look at it as a burden. It’s much more challenging. Our typical child, she can talk back! Sure we’re going to parent for him for life, but it’s a huge blessing and nobody can really understand that until they get to know him.”
It doesn’t take them long to understand it after they meet him and experience joy at the sight of him and Sanchez, always there with a smile and a wave. Behind their presence lies a story of a family that believed their son could give back and gave him a chance to do so.