Equalizer Online | August 2003 | Where Are They Now?

Where Are They Now?

A New Equalizer Feature Highlighting EFE Successes

Ophthalmologist, As Planned!

Today Olga Cèron is an ophthalmologist. She is a Captain in the Air Force. A research project she presented at a Harvard symposium resulted in its publication as the cover story in a leading journal of ophthalmology. She is listed in 2003 Who's Who in America. She also has a learning disability.

The story of this extraordinary young woman began in Bogota, Colombia, where she lived until moving to Southern California when she was five. Her parents always stressed the importance of education for her and her younger brother, who is now a commercial pilot. In high school, she became aware that it took her an unusually long time to study, but she earned good grades and considered the problem "no big deal."

Legal Advocacy Director Barry Taylor and Olga Cèron She attended UCLA, where she majored in biology. But again, she encountered no serious academic problems because "three hours was more than enough time to finish exams." While there, a student research program turned her on to the biochemical exploration of how the retina works, which led to the decision to combine internal medicine and surgery as a career choice. Olga was also attracted by the precision required for eye surgery and the great rewards of being able to restore sight. She expanded her education even further, studying genetics and immunology at Harvard during one summer of her undergrad years.

Upon graduation, she entered Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, where her dreams might have ended. After being diagnosed with a learning disability that affected her ability to process information quickly, Olga successfully negotiated with her medical school to provide her with the reasonable modification of additional time to take exams as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

However, the National Board of Medical Examiners, which required a medical licensing exam following the second year of medical school in order to proceed with years three and four, was not compliant. When Olga requested a similar reasonable modification, the Board claimed she had test anxiety, causing her to fail - not a disability, despite extensive medical documentation to the contrary. Olga chose to fight for her rights. Putting her medical school loans on deferment, she took off a year to study for the test and try again. She went back home to earn the $7,500 needed to take the review course being offered in Chicago. She worked at Macy's, a cellular company and an eye bank. Once in Chicago, she worked at the front desk of the Three Arts Club, where she lived. And every day she ran to keep up her spirits.

With June 10, 1997, looming as the date for the next U.S. Medical Licensing Exam, Olga again requested extra time to complete the exam and, once again, was denied. She sought help from the Office of Student Disabilities at the University of Chicago, which sent her to the law offices of Monahan & Cohen. Her attorney wrote a demand letter to the Board that failed to produce the necessary modification. Olga decided to sue. But the hefty retainer to pursue litigation was more than she could handle, so the law firm referred her to Equip for Equality.

Barry Taylor, EFE Legal Advocacy Director, and Joseph Perry, lead attorney on the case, filed suit in federal court under the ADA, along with a motion seeking a temporary restraining order requiring the Board to provide the additional time needed for Olga to take the exam.

Olga will never forget that day. "It was March 27, and it was my birthday," she said. "And I was thinking that I hope I can make a difference for other people who must travel the same road." One week before the scheduled exam, the National Board of Medical Examiners acquiesced, and she took and passed the exam.

"Olga's story is an excellent example of how the ADA can provide opportunities for people with disabilities that would otherwise be denied to them," said Taylor. "Her determination to fight for her rights at the same time she was studying for the most important exam of her life was remarkable."

Following her graduation from medical school in May 1999, Olga wrote in a letter to EFE, "Thank you once again for all your help and support. Today I am a doctor." And, reflecting on the experience, she said, "You can turn a limitation into an advantage by how you approach it. You must seize the moment and overcome the obstacle."

For her determination in the realization of her dream, EFE honored Olga Cèron with its outstanding Advocacy Award at its 1997 Awards Dinner and Benefit.

In August 2000, Olga joined the Air Force. Fulfilling her dream had a jump-start when, as part of a joint humanitarian project of the Air Force and Medical Ministries International, she was sent with an eye team, including specialists in cataracts, glaucoma and laser surgery, to Mexico to provide free eye care. Here, her Spanish skills were as valuable as her medical expertise. On June 30, 2003, Chief Resident Olga Cèron officially completed her medical training (one year in internal medicine; three years in ophthalmology) at Charles Drew University Martin Luther King Medical Center in Los Angeles. After attending officer training school in Montgomery, Ala., this summer, she will report to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, to begin her practice in ophthalmology - and to realize her dream. =

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