Kindness in action

Posted on Tuesday, February 27th, 2024

Twenty-eight-year-old Graham Spero knows how to multi-task. A 2016Group of public relations students standing with Graham Spero in a classroom Algonquin College graduate from the Public Relations program, Spero spends his days working for the Parliamentary Precinct Universal Accessibility Team and his free time volunteering with kids coaching baseball, playing hockey and speaking to kids with disabilities.

Spero was born missing part of his left hand. While others may have seen limitations, Spero has turned that unique characteristic into possibilities. On Kindness Day and Pink Shirt Day, Feb. 28, Spero shares his story.

“I was looked at differently and treated differently because of my hand and bullied a little bit,” said Spero. “I never let it get to me because of how I was raised. I thought I was awesome so if someone was bullying me, it didn’t register. It’s how I approached things. I thought I was awesome.” He continued, “I thought it was cool that I was playing baseball with one hand. I’d get both sides of it (various comments), and I listened to the positive (side) more.”

“I like to be a positive influence on kids who are going through the same thing, as I went through” he said.

Armed with a degree in public relations (Spero graduated from the joint degree program with the University of Ottawa and Algonquin College), a passion for public speaking and a desire to help disabled kids, Spero has taken his skills and combined them with his passions. He recently returned to Algonquin College to speak to a current group of public relations students and made quite an impression.

“Graham enjoys an enviable reputation, and I am confident that his work with young people will be his claim to fame,” said Media Studies professor Bradley Moseley-Williams. “I invited him into my Fieldwork Preparation class to speak to my students about how he uses his Algonquin College diploma to make the world a better place for other people.”

Spero described the experience of returning to campus as “awesome.”

“I really enjoyed giving a lecture,” he said. “I think my desire to help people with disabilities guides my passion for life. “I find it rewarding to help people. It’s my passion for helping people with disabilities that led me down this path where I can have a career and make a difference.”

He credits the Algonquin College public relations program for providing him with tools he uses in his professional life. “By the time I got to my job I had given so many presentations and I was so used to public speaking, it didn’t faze me,” said Spero. He encourages others to use skills you are developing to do something you care about and something you are passionate about.

For Spero, that includes combining his advocacy work and career in increasing accessibility with his passion for supporting kids with disabilities. “There isn’t just one path to a career,” he said. “Take what you learn and use it to help you do what you want it to be. Open your mind and be open to what you can do with your education. I’ve been able to use my public relations skills in my current role to help make Canada’s Parliamentary Precinct accessible for persons with disabilities.”

Helping kids like him provides Spero with immediate and positive results. “I don’t always get to see the impact that I am having on persons with disabilities in my career but the work I do with kids I see the impact first-hand, no pun intended.”

(photo caption – Graham Spero recently spoke to public relations students in their Fieldwork Preparation class)


Comments

Comments are closed.