- Who: About 50 NDSU students involved with Freedom by Design (FBD), a program associated with the student organization, American Institute of Architecture Students.
- What they are doing: They aim to raise $14,000 through a sloppy joe feed and bake sale Saturday, May 8, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Eid Center, Oak Grove School. Proceeds will fund the renovation of Corky Titus' kitchen into a safe, wheelchair accessible space so he can live more independently. The students also are designing and remodeling the kitchen with assistance from faculty and practicing professionals.
- Who is Corky: About eight years ago, Carmon "Corky" Titus, 63, was diagnosed with idiopathic peripheral polyneuropathy, a rare disease that causes nerves within feet, legs, hands, arms and trunk to malfunction simultaneously. Corky has no feeling from his elbows to his fingertips and from below his knees to his toes. Ironically, Titus once taught third-year medical students about neurological conditions. More recently, he was a chemical dependence and mental illness counselor for 24 years before the disease forced him to retire.
- Why the students volunteer: "When you know that all your efforts are going to benefit him, it makes it all worth it." - Heather Holz, fourth-year architecture student and Freedom by Design captain
- What Corky says:
"I never found a wall I couldn't get through, never found an obstacle in front of me that I couldn't get past, except for this. All I really have left is my freedom, and it is because of you guys (the students), your willingness to be here and your willingness to do what you're doing." - Corky Titus
Last fall, students helped design and build a deck ramp for Corky. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5SNeLVGMTE
Contact: Shane Nies, FBD public relations coordinator, at shane.nies@ndsu.edu or Heather Holz, FBD captain, at heather.holz@ndsu.edu.
