PASCO, Wash. – Students, faculty, and other members of the community gathered at Columbia Basin College to hear what one Washington resident had to say about self-esteem and her struggles with it.
Dawn Shaw is a published author, starred in a movie and a motivational speaker.
Shaw was born with a tumor called a teratoma. According to the Cleveland Clinic, a teratoma tumor is a type of germ cell tumor that consists of tissue, including teeth, hair, bone or muscle.
Shaw said the tumor was the size of an adult fist that was impacting her ability to breathe, so the doctors had to remove it. Shaw said she’s gone through multiple surgeries that have left half of her face paralyzed.
After it all, she’s not let this stop her from living a happy life.
Her parents didn’t want her to feel different from anyone and she’s thankful for it she said.
“We went to all kinds of National Parks, we went to Disney World, caverns and visited all four corners of the country,” said Shaw.
Shaw said she realized the way she looked impacted the way she looked at life.
“It wasn’t always easy to have people stare at me and whatnot,” she said. “I still think it was the best thing because I got to have all these fulfilling experiences and learned how to deal with people.”
Luz Garza, the Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at CBC said she just started at the college in February and heard about Shaw from a colleague.
She said what Shaw had to say had an impact on her.
“One of the great things about Dawn’s message is about the visible differences that we have as well as the hidden differences,” said Garza. “So, a lot of time we’re thinking about diversity, we’re always talking about the racial, ethnic and those kinds of things that are diverse. We have other areas in our lives that are also diverse.”
Shaw says it’s important to her to inspire people not to let the way people think of you rule their lives.
“First and foremost, we need to like ourselves,” Shaw said. ” We need to be comfortable with ourselves, because when you are, that’s when it’s going to be a lot easier for other people to be comfortable with you.”
Shaw said it’s not set in stone yet but, will be traveling to Alaska and Arizona next to speak with more schools.
