Noted social reformer and advocate for women’s rights Sarah Margaret Fuller said, “If you have knowledge, let others light their candles by it.”

Knowledge is power, and the Ms. Wheelchair America program represents a collective source of some of the most powerful women with disabilities in the nation. We come together to ignite passion in the people who look to us for leadership, in the hope that they will soon become leaders themselves.

A recent survey of integration efforts in Massachusetts showed that one of the most powerful preconditions for a person to participate in society was the presence of someone who could serve as a champion. It was an accomplished woman and disability advocate, Judith E. Heumann, co-founder of the Independent Living movement for people with disabilities, who, through sharing her story, helped me recognize my personal power, cultivating my capabilities, teaching me new advocacy skills, and modeling how simple, well-intended efforts can change the world.

People with disabilities, even in this era of medical advances and technological progress that make so very much possible, still are challenged to live fully integrated lives. In all realms, examples of people with disabilities living rich, full lives and filling valued roles in society play an important role in motivating others.

We all need champions, and if we get very lucky, sometimes we have the chance to play an uplifting role for others, as well. I chose to compete to become Ms. Wheelchair Maryland, and then Ms. Wheelchair America, in the hope that I can share resources I have gained on my adventures with disability and a bit of hope with other Americans. Many are people who use wheelchairs, but many are people who have other disabilities, or perhaps face completely unrelated challenges in their lives. The message of Ms. Wheelchair America is that stereotypes can be broken. Nothing can stop a person from being beautiful, glamorous, useful, knowledgeable and effective. Sure, there are some people who turn their glance away from those of us who are different from them – but those are the people who most need to see a woman in a wheelchair taking pride in who she is, all that she is.

I have been honored to serve as Ms. Wheelchair America 2005, and I have made the most of the opportunity. But I never forget this competition is much bigger than me. Ms. Wheelchair America is every woman who has worn this crown, and arguably she is also every woman who has competed on behalf of her state, or who has even thought about competing. For that matter, she is also every woman who uses a wheelchair and sees herself as an emissary to others. Ms. Wheelchair America is the personification of an ideal of tolerance, understanding, ambition and justice.

She promotes that participation means more than having a community presence. It is the realization of each individual’s identity through involvement in and contribution to community life.

As a story teller, she illuminates possibilities for people with disabilities through her experiences- leading them to see a future they might previously have been denied. Paraphrasing the words of Nelson Mandela, as she lets her own light shine she unconsciously gives other people permission to do the same.

Like the symbolic lighthouse, she is an aid to navigation for people with disabilities, illuminating paths and highlighting resources.

She is the keeper of the future, ensuring the stories of great and upcoming disability leaders continue to be known.

The message she conveys, shared with her by Daniel D. Wilkens, advocate and owner of the Nth Degree, is clear: find your courage, share your vision and change the world!

I have deepened my understanding of disability issues, and my dedication to help level the field for the one-fifth of all Americans who have disabilities. I know that only 35 percent of adults with disabilities are working, according to the National Organization on Disability Harris Poll; but visiting with people with developmental disabilities in New York and California and with employers across this country who are tapping into the true potential of people with disabilities, I have seen firsthand what can be achieved when stereotypes of who is employable are overridden.

Before we can hope to work, young people need to be educated– and not only young people with disabilities, but those without, must understand the importance of working together. I was thrilled to be invited by the University of South Carolina to the FIRST LEGO League tournament, where teams of children from across the state came to meet the challenge and theme of “No Limits” to build and program Lego robots that addressed specific needs of people with disabilities. I was proud to share with them the real-world application of what they created and to receive the key to the city of Columbia, South Carolina from the mayor – a key that allowed me access to the opportunity to impact our future architects and researchers, those who will come up through the ranks and help us all effect systems change.

I know that people with disabilities need to be able to get into buildings and access services in the communities where they live; and when I visited Pasadena, California, winner of the National Organization on Disability’s Accessible America Award, I was thrilled to see a community putting forward practices that could serve every town and city in America.

Wheelchair users and others with disabilities waited a long time for the Americans with Disabilities Act, which promises us the right to enter public places. As I’ve traveled the country, I have been reminded that accessibility is not yet universal, and will not be ensured by law if we do not stay actively involved in demanding it. I have had to demand accessibility to public transportation in nearly every state I have visited, articulating that accessible transportation is critical to full participation in society for all people.

Even our most basic needs, for housing and mobility, are not guaranteed. I have had the chance to meet with powerful people and celebrities this year, but I have been most touched by those who are unfairly made powerless in our society because they do not have the finances to obtain the tools that would maximize their productivity. Our country strives for freedom throughout the world, but I have seen clearly that not everyone is free in America. I hope that the Ms. Wheelchair America program, and the entrée it gives to spokeswomen including myself to events like the Presidential Inauguration, helps to keep important issues for millions of Americans in the mind of the public and of opinion leaders and legislators.

I spread the message of empowerment because I passionately believe it. It has been the case in my life. Listening to Greg Smith broadcast his radio show, seeing Marlee Matlin in the cast of The West Wing, gazing at Van Gogh’s art, hearing Ray Charles’s passionate music, watching Max Cleland serve in the U.S. Senate, have all reminded me of the limitless potential of my existence, and to refuse to accept the limits that society’s perceptions of my disability might create. If I can be even a modest inspiration to other people by sharing my knowledge – as a successful professional, a pageant winner, an advocate, a woman with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma and fibromyalgia, a spokesperson, a power chair user, a supportive presence – then wearing the sash and the tiara are not only a great honor, but my best chance to make a difference and illuminate opportunities for others.

As Ms. Wheelchair America 2005, Juliette Rizzo speaks and advocates nationally about the needs and achievements of people with disabilities. To learn more about the Ms. Wheelchair America program, please visit www.mswheelchairamerica.org