WT grad shines in class

By David Pittman
david.pittman@amarillo.com

Jesse Robinson sometimes notices the odd looks on campus.

The West Texas A&M graduate has cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that impedes muscle control.

The disease leaves him with a noticeable limp while walking. His speech is a little slow and slurred.

But don't feel sorry for Robinson.

"My CP didn't affect my cognitive abilities at all, just my muscular," he said.

That shows in his school work.

Robinson graduated from WT last week with honors and a degree in history. He holds a near-perfect grade point average at 3.97.

The Canyon native plans to study to become a pastor at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.

Robinson's disease made his academic life slightly more difficult.

He's always had to use a laptop to take notes because writing was hard.

"Jesse could never take notes well or one of those tests where you have to bubble things in," father Clay Robinson said.

WT's Office of Student Disability Services has helped him greatly at the school.

Robinson has still learned to play the piano and guitar despite the limitations on his motor skills.

He wanted to play sports as a child but couldn't run to keep up, said his father, a professor of agriculture sciences at WT.

Robinson's parents raised and treated him as if he didn't have cerebral palsy.

"My parents didn't baby me by any means," Robinson said.

Despite attending Canyon High School and having family still living in Canyon, Robinson has lived on campus all four years, becoming an active residence hall adviser.

This year he has gained the envy of his male friends serving as the RA for the all-female Cross Hall.

Clay Robinson reiterated the sentiments of Jesse's younger brother: Jesse is handicapped because if he wasn't no one else would be able to keep up.

Editor's note: Beating the Odds is a series published in the Amarillo Globe-News from May 10-24 that tells the stories of all kinds of students who are graduating despite challenges they've faced. It is part of Celebrate Education, a program designed to bring awareness to the need of educational attainment in the Texas Panhandle.