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Profile: Sean Walsh
My name is Sean Walsh. I became disabled when I was six and since the age of 14 I have used a wheelchair.
I always wanted to be like my father who was a building contractor and I had a natural affinity for creating and assembling. However, I realised that I would not be able to build due to the nature of my disability and so I considered my other talents. As I was good at art, I decided that I should be an architect. Many people simply humoured me when I voiced this desire and they told me to pick something 'more realistic'. Thankfully, my family believed in me and encouraged my ambitions. Everyone said the money was good - I now realise that they weren't architects!
I undertook my schooling at an 'integrated school' in Milton Keynes. Computer studies was taught on the first floor of a building with no lift, and technical drawing was accessed via an obstacle course of steps. Impossible! After being hospitalised, I attended a boarding school for the disabled where I completed my secondary education. However, I was told that I would be unable to study at A-level. As I needed A-levels to get to university, I faced a big problem. Then a teacher advised me to consider architectural technology. I saw this as the route to my goal of a career in architecture.
I enrolled at college in Northampton to study an Ordinary National Certificate (ONC) followed by a Higher National Certificate (HNC) in building studies. I also volunteered for a local disability access group, advising on alterations to buildings. I passed both the ONC and HNC with high grades and for the first time no-one questioned my abilities. I overcame my access problems by an arrangement with the caretaking staff, who pushed me from lecture to lecture, starting at 9am and finishing at 8pm. I owe them a debt of gratitude. As a trainee architectural technician, I joined the British Institute of Architectural Technologists (BIAT) and I become involved with the Central Region Committee.
When I initially applied for work, I received few responses. Following advice from another disabled person, I refrained from mentioning on my CV that I was a wheelchair user. Hey presto! My qualifications were enough to secure me those otherwise elusive interviews. Each job interview I attended I was given the red card due to lack of access within the workplace. Sometimes, this was a legitimate reason but more often than not, it was simply an excuse because they did not want to hire a disabled person. Some interviews I attended were insulting but I was desperate for a job at the time.
Success finally arrived when I secured a position as a trainee computer aided design architectural technician. I worked there for 18 months, during which I began a degree in architecture at De Montfort University. Being a glutton for punishment, I also studied a basic German course and a Certificate in Management Studies.
After leaving my job, somewhat disillusioned by their lack of faith in my physical abilities, I took a short sabbatical while continuing my degree. I then returned to work as the first employee of the access group that I had joined years before as a volunteer. I was employed as the group's co-ordinator and as a consultant to the local Council. I also became the Central Region Treasurer for BIAT, a role that I still enjoy greatly. I have finished my degree and I have also completed an Access Auditing course run by the University of Portsmouth and Centre for Accessible Environments. I continue to work for the access group while running my own small architectural practice. I have given talks about disability and the design of the environment to various groups including the Construction Industry Council's Equal Opportunities Taskforce. I have been asked to join a BIAT Consultative Panel and a Building Regulations Advisory Committee with the Department of Environment Transport and Regions. I also talk to students studying architectural technology.
I would say one thing to any student wishing to follow a career in construction who also just so happens to have a disability. You must believe in yourself. If other people do not encourage you, you must retain a tenacious determination to follow your dream. The most unbelievable dreams can come true.
[18 March 2003]
