Worlds Ahead graduate implements music in therapy

Shannon McMullen/Contributing Writer

 

When Fabian Carrera told his teacher at his sixth grade graduation he wanted to continue his education, the response he got was, “School is not for your kind. You should go shine shoes with the other cripples down at the bus station instead.”

Ecuador’s cultural prejudices were not the only things beating Carrera down as a young child. He had contracted a severe case of poliomyelitis when he was only nine months old, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.

The World Health Organization states, “Poliomyelitis is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children. In a small proportion of cases, the disease causes paralysis, which is often permanent.”

Every day for the next five years, he was unable to enjoy the normality of childhood, always bound to an iron lung that would help him breathe.

Fabian Carrera’s wife, Deborah Happy de Carrera, described the repercussions that followed this.

“He missed all milestones developmentally,” she said. ”He didn’t crawl; he didn’t walk. When you do these things, it helps you to read and to connect neurologically.”

Carrera’s wife said that even though despite being paralyzed for most of his life, one day, he began to first move his head, and eventually his whole body to the sound of music.

“God used music to help heal him. That’s when his interest in music [began],” she said.

Carrera went on to graduate from high school, and received a degree in guitar performance and music education. Even though Ecuador was his home – where his love of music began – he also experienced hardship there.

Carrera said he wasn’t able even to have the proper braces for wheelchairs. They would use bicycle wheels instead, and when the straps started breaking, they would fix it with masking tape.

Carrera looked beyond Ecuador to find a better life he said, all the way to the United States.

“I always wanted something more,” he said.

Carrera said he moved to the U.S. with a few hundred dollars, his guitar and a brace that was breaking into pieces, but he reassured himself to move forward with his profession.

“I’m going to do this. I’m going to get my education. I’m going to pursue my principal career,” Carrera said.

Carrera was shocked to discover that, when he applied for a master’s degree at the University of Miami, his 11 years of studying for his degree in Ecuador did nothing for him. He was told his schooling was not accredited.

However, this setback did not faze him, and he entered Miami Dade College as a freshman, eventually receiving his associate’s degree and graduated with highest honors.

FIU recognized his achievements and awarded him with scholarships, such as a Transfer Merit Scholarship, the Johnson Scholarship and UWS Sedano’s Family 1st Generation Scholarship.

“FIU has been a wonderful university because they accepted my credits, gave me scholarships and the Disability Resource Center helped me out a lot with different accommodations like extra time,” Carrera said.

Although Carrera said his forte was music when he came to the U.S., he also mentioned he wanted to be a social worker all his life and that he liked to help people in need.

“Right now, I’m finishing an internship with Camillus House. I had a chance to do music therapy with them, counseling and helping [others],” Carrera said.

Carrera has also volunteered at hospices, homeless shelters and free medical clinics. In return, he’s received the President’s Volunteer Service Award Gold Medal.

Carrera has volunteered at places like Season’s Hospice in Miami Beach

“There was a gentleman [there] who was totally catatonic, and, through the power of music, he came back,” she said.

The man seemed like he was ready to die, according to Carrera’s wife, but her husband started playing music for him. After six months of playing for him, there was still no reaction. Then, one day, he started moving his fingers to the music.

“Next thing you know, he started humming the music. Next thing you know, he started singing the lyrics, talking about his childhood in Cuba, came back to the present, [and] discovered he had brothers and sisters,” she said.

Even though her husband has faced discrimination, Mrs. Carrera said, he also had many blessings here.

Carrera expressed how honored he was when he became a Worlds Ahead Graduate, a prestigious position that recognizes those who go above and beyond expectations at FIU.

“Receiving this recognition is like a beautiful gift from life. It’s like a recognition of the efforts that I have done,” Carrera said.

Carrera said he was especially grateful towards Professor Stephen Charman for nominating him as a Worlds Ahead Graduate. He said Charman was his first teacher in social psychology, and that they had touched base over the years and became good friends.

“He [told] me two years ago, ‘I want to nominate you. When do you graduate?’” Carrera said.

Charman had been wanting to nominate Carrera to be Worlds Ahead Graduate for a while, but Carrera was unsure when he would graduate. Every year, Charman would ask him, but he kept getting sick and having to slow down.

“I knew that Fabian exceeded expectations while he was a student in my class when he decided to take the much more difficult essay-based exams instead of my regular multiple-choice exams,” Charman said.

Charman said he was deeply impressed that Carrera had done better on these exams than anyone else did in his 11 years of teaching that class and that even though he chose a more difficult path, he finished in the top five percent of his students. Even before he knew Carrera’s story, he was determined to nominate him as a Worlds Ahead Graduate.

Charman expressed his confidence in Carrera’s capabilities and future endeavors.

“Fabian has a very interesting and rather unique career path, as he wants to integrate his musical talents and his desire to help people, such as those suffering from PTSD, by conducting music therapy,” Charman said.

Because of his upcoming graduation, Carrera said his parents would be traveling to the U.S. for the first time. It has been a long journey, especially for his father. Carrera described how his father had to carry him six miles to school each day when Fabian was a child.

“[My father] is very excited to be here. It took him 90 years to see his achievements.” Carrera said with a laugh.

Carrera will be graduating Summa Cum Laude with a double major in music and social work, as well as a minor in psychology. Despite all of his achievements, Carrera has remained humble of all his efforts.

“It’s not for me. It’s for the people behind me, or for the ones that don’t have a voice,” he said.

 

Featured image of Fabian Carrera courtesy of Fabian Carrera.