Going Against All Odds All Her Life
SG president accomplishes more than most in spite of disability
By Dr. Gayle Noble, SAC Advisor, Coastline Community College in California

Fifty-six-year-old Huntington Beach, California resident Shirley Ann Davis has been elected to a one-year term as the tenth president of Coastline Community College’s (California) student government body, the Student Advisory Council. She has previously served as vice president, area representative, and peer mentor for SAC.

“Once you’ve seen her, you’ll never forget her,” says Dr. Gayle Noble, the group’s faculty advisor. “Once you get to know her, you’ll feel you’ve made a friend for life. In her 3-foot 6-inch frame, Shirley has a huge heart.”

Shirley uses a wheelchair to get around. She was born with a hereditary condition known as osteogenesis imperfecta, a disease that causes the bones to become extremely fragile and break. At one time or another, Shirley has broken almost every bone in her body (she currently has a painful cracked rib). Her more than 69 operations included one surgery at age 18 to fuse a goat bone into the gap between the bones in her leg—an operation so experimental that it required authorization from President Kennedy. Shirley still treasures this “autograph.”

Shirley says her parents treated her “like she was normal and could do whatever she wanted.” Her mother fought for Shirley’s right to attend regular classes, and Shirley vividly recalls pulling herself and her wheelchair up the steps into the school bus each day. At school, she was active in choir, theater, and even the softball team. Shirley graduated from Buena Park High School and like many other Coastline students postponed college in favor of marriage and children.

Despite disabilities and related health problems that occasionally slow her down, this delightful person has led a full life and has served in many active community roles. Married to Ray Davis for 35 years, she is the mother of two grown children and grandmother of one; she and Ray also provided foster care to 19 children. For 35 years she has been a faithful Sunday school teacher; the last five of those years at the Church of Christ in Mission Viejo.

Shirley takes special pride in the more than 40 years she has been involved with Scouting. She has been a den mother and Assistant District Commissioner and she received the Boy Scouts Award of Merit in 1986, Scouting’s highest award for a volunteer. Fourteen years ago, Shirley became the first woman to serve on the Committee for Troop 1, the oldest Boy Scout Troop in Orange County, California. In Girl Scouts, Shirley led three troops and served as the Junior Consultant in Huntington Beach to train new troop leaders; she is currently a Solo Scout Leader.

In 1972, Shirley and her husband Ray made headlines in Texas when they adopted their first child, Michael. Until that time adoption agencies had not placed children in homes where either parent had a disability. This happy event opened the door for other disabled parents to adopt. Five years later, a pleasantly surprised Shirley conceived and gave birth to daughter, Alethea.

For a time, Shirley and Ray were raising their grandson, Mikey. They enrolled, with Mikey, in Coastline’s Parent Education Program, which offers parenting courses in which parents/caregivers attend college with their children. The outcome of this activity was a special Coastline graduation ceremony event in 1998 when five-year-old Mikey, dressed in cap and gown, walked across the stage, accompanying both his grandmother Shirley and grandfather Ray who each received an A.A. Mikey received a Certificate of Honors.

In 1996 Shirley received a Criminal Justice Certificate from Golden West College (California). She volunteers her time counseling juvenile offenders for the Orange County Probation Department. Her goal is to become a juvenile probation officer. She is currently taking courses at both Coastline and Golden West that she needs in order to transfer to California State University at Long Beach (CSULB), California where she hopes to complete a B.A. in Criminal Justice. “I enjoy working with kids” she says. “I will follow their cases and deal with any discipline problems that come up. I’ll be there for them if and when they need me.”

Shirley’s interest in young people brought her back to school. After serving as a “Tough Love Counselor” and “Friend of the Court” in juvenile cases, Shirley decided she wanted to make a career as a juvenile probation officer. She took her first classes at Coastline in 1992 and has been actively involved in Coastline’s SAC ever since. She is a tireless supporter of Coastline and Coastline students. She can always be found sitting in Coastline’s College Center lobby during walk-in registration, meeting and greeting students who come to enroll or buy their textbooks at the College Bookstore.

Coastline’s SAC welcomes new members. Students enroll in a three-unit leadership course which meets Thursday nights and they automatically become members of SAC. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to gain leadership skills and to get more involved in governance activities at the college. For more information, please contact SAC President Shirley Davis at (714) 241-6253 or SAC Advisor Gayle Noble at (714) 241-6251.

Dr. Gayle Noble teaches a college leadership course and is advisor to Coastline Community College’s student government body, the Student Advisory Council. Coastline is located in California and is dedicated to serving the educational needs of non-traditional students. You can reach Noble at (714) 241-6251 or gnoble@cccd.edu.

Copyright © 2005 Oxendine Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved