Despite being diagnosed with a mitochondrial disorder when she was eight years old, special education major Sydney Breslow doesn’t let her difficulties with balance, vision, speech and walking get in the way of pursuing her dreams.
Breslow, along with her family, formed a team to participate in the Energy for Life Walkathon in Camden, N.J. on Sept. 27, sponsored by the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation. The team was set up in honor of Breslow and in memory of her cousin Logan, who tragically passed away in late 2013. She remembers him as someone who knew the true meaning of love and happiness.
With a team name of “Linked for Life – Love Like Logan; Smile Like Sydney,” the money raised from pledge-based donations to her team will be used to promote research for the diagnosis, treatment, and cure of mitochondrial disorders.
“I chose to be a special education major because I want to help people with disabilities reach their full potential,” Breslow says. “One of my passions in life is raising funds and awareness for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation so one day there will be a cure for this debilitating, devastating and many times fatal disease.”
Breslow has actively volunteered with the UMDF since middle school. She has participated in many Energy for Life Walkathons sponsored by the UMDF, and was recognized as one of the top fundraisers for several of the walks. She also received the “Heartstrings Award” in 2010 by the UMDF for successful fundraising and awareness efforts she spearheaded in high school.
The Cherry Hill, N.J., native says the HPU family has always supported her.
“I walked into convocation as a shy freshman who did not know what the future held, and I will walk out in May as a confident graduate who knows that the future has great things in store,” she says. “I feel like the education and experiences that I have been given at HPU will definitely enable me to enhance the lives and education of students with disabilities.”
She has taken advantage of multiple leadership opportunities within the School of Education, which have helped her build leadership skills and grow as a person. She says that while many daily tasks are more difficult for her a result of her disability, the services and accessibility that HPU offers make each day easier to tackle, noting that Tom Smith, Jay Macy and the transportation staff at HPU make each and every day less stressful and more doable for her.
“My HPU family and the entire faculty and teaching program in the School of Education have also been extremely instrumental in helping me to reach my goal of teaching students with disabilities,” Breslow says. “Teresa Owens and Dr. Beth Holder have truly bent over backwards to help coach me through the rigorous education program and offer moral support along the way.”
After she graduates in May 2015, Breslow plans to continue her education to receive her master’s in intellectual disabilities from HPU.
To learn more about mitochondrial disease and to donate to Breslow’s UMDF Energy for Life team, visit http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=1106969&team=6027724.