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Semi-retired punk rocker. Law student. Wheelchair basketballer. Occasional Auckland day-tripper. Since moving into independent living in Hamilton in February, backed by planning and support from Your Way | Kia Roha, Cory has been unapologetically building the life he wants to live.
Cory has total clarity on where he is heading and what he wants to do. He started out his academic journey studying accounting before adding a law degree, drawn in by mentors in the profession who told him tax was “a bit like oncology and medicine. You either love it to bits or won’t go near it.” Cory loves it.
His goal is to bring together an accountant’s and a lawyer’s view of tax and eventually complete a Master of Taxation. He is direct about why he is stacking up qualifications most people do not bother combining. He wants to ensure he sets himself up for success.
“I know that sometimes it’s difficult for disabled kiwis to get work, but if I can make myself so qualified and have all those skills in demand, employers would look at me and be like, why wouldn’t we hire this guy? Even if he needs ramps or other physical accommodations installed at an expense. We are so desperate for these skills, he’s valuable enough, we’ll give him anything.”
“So, it’s about overcoming those barriers and setting myself up to succeed. You’d be stupid not to.”
Before moving to Hamilton, Cory, who was based in Gisborne, didn’t have as much independence as he does now.
Getting things done often meant asking his parents to make a supermarket stop on their way home or paying for an expensive taxi. Now there is a four square a couple of bus stops away, and a bus timetable on his phone.
“Something as simple as being able to go and get milk at a moment’s notice on my own represents an incredibly high level of independence and freedom,” he says.
That same freedom has taken him a lot further than the dairy. He has travelled to Auckland with the power chair football team, played for Waikato against Auckland in a warm-up game, and competes in the wheelchair basketball national league, with trips to Palmerston North and, funding permitting, Christchurch this year.
He trains a couple of hours a week, much like any other university student who plays social sport on the side, and if he isn’t studying, or training, he is catching up with his new uni mates, with the odd jam session thrown in, time allowing.
Cory’s mum checks in regularly, which Cory reckons is common amongst all his friends.
“I don’t think that’s a disability thing at all, that is incredibly normal. I have plenty of my able-bodied friends whose mums worry like that too,” he laughs, “I miss her terribly as well… it’s the one thing I do find hard, is I do miss my family. We are very close… Just because, not for like support or anything. It’s just, you know, because I love them.”
Cory is clear that none of this happened on its own and that it was a good support network that has enabled this new chapter. Your Way | Kia Roha carried out his needs assessment and helped set up the support infrastructure in Gisborne before he transferred to the Hamilton Waikato NASC, easing the shift to independent living.
“You guys helped lay the most solid concrete foundations possible for this house of independence, if you get what I mean. It’s about having those solid network foundations and the core infrastructure in place to allow me to have and exploit those opportunities,” he says, pointing out that this kind of support is easy to underestimate.
“It might look small from a distance, but the setting up of the core infrastructure and helping with the transition is actually really important. It’s core infrastructure that was required for this to succeed.”
Cory’s message for anyone reading his story and wondering if this kind of life is possible for them, or their child, is simple.
“Anything is possible if done right. Reach out and get a needs assessment and talk to the people who know how all this stuff works. They will help you make a plan, put supports in place, and build up the infrastructure that’s right for you,” he says, adding that self-doubt can be the bigger barrier for a lot of people.
“If I can do it, and I have pretty significant disabilities, then I don’t see why most people couldn’t. You just need to reach out and ask for that support, and for someone to help hold the lantern on the path so they can help you see where you’re going.”
