Embracing Adversity and Disability Lands Menlo’s 2021 Valedictorian in the Spotlight By Caroline Casper, Adjunct Professor of Literature and Humanities For Cosette Fitzgerald, Menlo College’s 2021 valedictorian, the journey to academic success hasn’t been easy. This is true for most college valedictorians this year; graduating at the top of the class during a global pandemic is a remarkable feat. But for Fitzgerald, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the age of three, this achievement is particularly unique. Fitzgerald was born and raised in Capitola, a small California town just outside of Santa Cruz. She grew up with sensory, social and communication issues, and she credits the efforts of her mother for her diagnosis. She helped prepare her for public school and the challenges ahead. “I feel lucky because autism is not diagnosed enough for people who are assigned female and for people of color,” Fitzgerald said. Although the Capitola school district offered few resources for kids like Fitzgerald, the county offered private practitioners and professionals to help her along the way. She learned social skills, received tutoring for writing, and did horse vaulting and swimming. When she outgrew those resources, her family moved to Santa Clara and enrolled Fitzgerald in a unique private high school that had a program for students with disabilities. There, she thrived and learned to adapt to a neurotypical world. Because Fitzgerald has always been “good at math,” she decided to major in accounting and is currently on track to become a CPA. She’s also very interested in people and wanted to learn subjects like psychology and sociology. “As much as I am a math student, I also like understanding people and systems of power, in part because I’m autistic,” she said. “I’ve had to learn how people work, all of their unspoken rules and assumptions. Their thinking is not natural to me which makes it fascinating.” When deciding on a college, Fitzgerald created a spreadsheet of every college within a 50-mile perimeter of her home and narrowed the list based on her needs and preferences. She started at West Valley College in Saratoga, graduating with an A.A. in Liberal Arts, then transferred to Menlo College, her first choice, in 2018. “Slow and steady wins the race,” she said. “Many people on the autism spectrum can achieve their goals, but they need the right modifications. I always filled my schedule with classes relevant to my major, but I’d also take one ‘fun class’ each semester that satisfied my interests. This may have extended my time in college, but that balance kept me from feeling overwhelmed, and I loved what I learned.” Community is especially important to Fitzgerald. She is passionate about social justice and advocating for the rights of the marginalized and disabled. She was also very active on Menlo’s campus. She worked as a writing tutor in the Writing and Oral Communication Center, and she was a member of Menlo’s Accounting Club, the Spectrum+ Club, and VITA (Voluntary Income Tax Assistance). After graduation, she hopes to avoid the world of “big business” and go to work for a local government agency to help create more accountability and policy change. “We live in a society that doesn’t paint autism, or other such disabilities, in a very positive light,” she said. “It’s often a tragic narrative, but it isn’t for me. I’ve learned to embrace my autistic wiring and to love it.”
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