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Warhawk Spotlight: Opportunity to excel despite circumstances: AUM student leaves wheelchair behind to cross stage for graduation

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AUM student leaves wheelchair behind to cross stage for graduation

Logan Prickett, namesake of The Logan Project at Auburn University at Montgomery at center of NSF-funded research for math instruction for learners with disabilities, accepted his diploma in his own style, under his own steam.

Auburn University at Montgomery/Montgomery, Ala. (May 5, 2018) — Logan Pricket, the namesake for The Logan Project at Auburn University at Montgomery, left his wheelchair behind to accept his diploma today. With the assistance of leg braces and a walker, Logan crossed the stage on his own to receive his diploma. AUM recognized at commencement Logan’s dedication to earning his own degree — in four years — and to his contributions to making mathematics education more accessible to other challenged learners as part of the National Science Foundation-funded The Logan Project.

Prickett, from Ohatchee, Ala., near Anniston, is a motivated, optimistic AUM psychology major. As a young teen, he had a reaction during a medical procedure that resulted in almost complete blindness, significant mobility deficits, and a voice that cannot exceed a whisper. Despite those setbacks, Prickett lives life full throttle, skydiving, whitewater rafting, hunting — and participating in the creation of audio methods for math instruction to help other students like himself.

AUM began developing a completely audio method of math instruction when Prickett started his Intermediate Algebra class in the Spring of 2015. The university Instructional Technology team focused on developing a methodology that would allow Logan to fully drive the intellectual processes involved in simplifying and solving algebraic expressions and equations. The approach had to be unique because Logan’s limited mobility will not allow him to use Nemeth Code, the math equivalent of Braille. Prickett has been an integral part of the AUM research team

“Logan represents the resilience, heart and dedication we see in all of our students, and we are proud of the work he has done during his undergraduate studies at Auburn University at Montgomery,” said Dr. Carl A. Stockton, AUM chancellor.

Montgomery County Probate Judge Steven L. Reed, who spoke at AUM’s commencement, told students: “We are counting on you to make your mark, to effect change in this world.” Prickett’s work at AUM and his independence throughout his four years as a student and at today’s commencement exercises is exemplary of that change.

An archive of commencement ceremonies is available online.

Auburn University at Montgomery is ranked among the South’s top universities by U.S. News and World Report and was named one of the best colleges in the Southeast by The Princeton Review. Consistently chosen as the best university in the area, Auburn University at Montgomery provides students with detailed knowledge and hands-on, practical experience, often from professionals in the field.

More about AUM at www.aum.edu.

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Contact

Layne Holley
Interim Executive Director
Office of Strategic Communications & Marketing
Auburn University at Montgomery
[email protected]
Office: 334-244-3642
Mobile: 334-318-1017

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