Gregg Van Camp

My background was in the fashion industry for 25 years. Every year in February after New York fashion week, I'd come to Hawaii for vacation and always thought it would be great to move here when I retired. After my diagnosis, I figured why wait until then. The people of Hawaii are amazingly friendly and there's a decent public transportation system.
 
I am really happy I came to Hawaii. The lifestyle here is very accepting and very friendly; the spirit of Aloha. The weather also doesn't hurt! I made the right choice.

To me, you have to be realistic, I didn't want to sit around and do nothing just because I have a disability. I also knew I wanted a job that wasn't just working a menial one with low pay. I wanted a good job, not just any job. A job that pays well requires some education or training.
 
After I moved to Hawaii, I attended the Ho'opono training program that teaches people who are blind or becoming blind how to function with a visual impairment by learning how to read Braille, use a cane for mobility, and other skills. Through this program, I met with a Vocational Rehabilitation counselor. I disclosed that I wanted to go back to school and she helped me with the process.

At UH, I took an occupational aptitude test and "Counselor" was high on the list. In the past, I've always found myself listening to and helping others. I decided on Rehabilitation Counseling because I was going through the process of adjusting to a disability myself and finding a new path of employment. I thought I would be able to relate to others. I looked into this program, applied and got in!

I was quite surprised that the Rehabilitation Counseling program was in the College of Education and not Psychology but as I thought about it more, it IS a job in educating people. We are educating people with disabilities and everyone else in society. It's about educating yourself and others.
 
So far, it's been a really rewarding experience. I'm learning a lot that I've never been exposed to before. It's a diverse group of people in the COE Rehabilitation Counseling Program: there's a wide variety of ages, ethnicity and heritage. It's interesting because everyone in the program genuinely wants to help people. We also have some who already have jobs in the field as entry-level Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors or in Human Services Department, but are looking to learn more or get promotions.
 
I'm still learning about Hawaiian culture, since I'm new to Hawaii but by the time I finish the three year program, I think I'll learn what I'll need to assist people of Hawaii.

I know what I went through. I met a lot of people who went through the Ho'opono program too, adjusting to a new disability is very difficult. I want to aid not just the people with disabilities themselves but also guide the community around them and their future employers to understand what is happening. We all have our strengths and weaknesses whether we have a disability or not.

They have to be dedicated and really want to do this. People are really depending on you and it is rewarding. Sooner or later everyone will have a disability in some way, using a cane or a wheelchair, having vision or hearing problems with age. I didn't think anything was going to happen to me. I thought I was going to be sitting at a sewing machine until I was 90 years old. There will always be changes in life; the trick is to adjust gracefully.
 
I also see it as helping society become aware of people with disabilities. It's rewarding to help someone with a disability find a job without being discriminated against. You become an advocate for people with disabilities.

I hope to prove that people with disabilities are just as capable as anyone else by setting an example. I plan to get a job here in Hawaii and help others who found themselves in a similar position. People here are isolated and may not get as many opportunities or help as those on the mainland. There's a big need here to assist people with disabilities.
 
People don't understand what people with disabilities are capable of. With assisted technologies, pretty much anyone can do anything. People can make their own money, be independent and not live just off the State. Everyone wants that independence, to come and go as they please.

Gregg Van Camp is a student in our Rehabiliation Counselor Education program. For over 25 years Gregg worked in the fashion industry, getting his start in LA as a tailor and then worked in London, Paris and New York as a tailor, pattern maker and stylist. In New York, he worked with fashion designers, celebrities, and also on Broadway productions until he was diagnosed with Usher's Syndrome in 2005