Former Special Olympian Still Exhibits Mettle in Campus Work

By JON BARTEL

Last year, Leslie Chatburn completed 25 years of service at UCSB. Many people reach that milestone, but few have overcome as many obstacles in doing so as she has.

Born with cerebral palsy, Chatburn was raised at St. Vincent's Orphanage in Santa Barbara after her mother died in Leslie's infancy. She graduated in 1971 from San Diego's Grossmont High School, which had special education programs not then available in Santa Barbara.

Before getting a job at UCSB, Chatburn worked at a Salvation Army store. She now works half-time as a general assistant in the Office of the Registrar, commuting by bus from an apartment in Santa Barbara's San Roque area. Because of her job, she says, "I get to be independent and have some financial security. I can do more things for myself."

Chatburn has long been active in the community. For about 10 years she competed in swimming and track events at the Santa Barbara Special Olympics. Now she goes to the annual event to cheer on others. Hillside House has honored her for reading to its residents each week. At Grace Lutheran Church she helps with the annual food drive, though this is not her home church.

Dan Hodgson, her pastor at Goleta Vineyard Christian Fellowship, says: "She always helps at the door with bulletins and any inserts or other info we are distributing for the day, and is eager to lend her help or support wherever it's needed or welcomed–including praying for those in need. Her undaunted commitment in the face of her many challenges is an inspiration to us all."

Raymond Huerta, UCSB affirmative action coordinator, helped Chatburn get her initial campus job. "She was one of our first hires for the Affirmative Action Program for the Disabled," he recalled. "I'm happy to say that she's been very successful. It's a wonderful story–she is able to take on certain kinds of tasks that others would prefer not to do."

Rosie Quimby, records service supervisor, has been her supervisor since 1996. She says that Leslie's work "enables us to give better customer service. She does a number of tasks that are important to us."

Among these, Quimby says, are preparing items for mailing and delivery, pulling student files from the basement of Cheadle Hall–sometimes several times a day–keeping track of where 48 academic departments are located and delivering verification of grade sheets to them, and verifying degree candidacy status. Chatburn also is responsible for the delivery of the office's daily staff audit to each person in the department.

The job has changed considerably since Chatburn began as a temporary employee in 1977. At that time, most of her work involved paper–such as filing transcripts and making copies of documents. Now, many of the records are computerized. Because she was already using a computer at home, she said the transition to using a computer at work was not difficult.

Quimby added, "She has a great memory, is comfortable with a lot of projects on her desk, and she likes knowing that she has a lot to do."

Chatburn said there have been a few occasions when tasks were more complex than she could handle. But generally, she says, "I keep asking questions until I get it."