Wheels in motion:  providing service to seniors and enjoying a passion for Chap basketball

By Nancy Brown

“I didn’t think college was in my future,” said Saul Herrera,  “but I loved MC as soon as I got there!”  Saul especially enjoyed his job managing the game room in the Scharbauer Student Center in 1979 and 1980.  It’s where he met the athletes, became their friends, and found his way to one of his greatest passions for the past thirty years:  Midland College basketball.  “Saul is a huge, huge MC basketball fan,” said MC Athletics Director Forrest Allen, who has been Saul’s friend since the ninth grade. “It’s always so good to see him at the games,” continued Forrest.

One reason Saul might have thought college was out of reach is that he has been wheelchair bound with Cerebral Palsy (CP) since he was a young child.  “At six months, I couldn’t sit up.  My parents knew something was wrong,” Saul said.  After several months of testing Saul was diagnosed with CP and attended the Cerebral Palsy Center for the next 17 years.  However, it was important to him and his parents that he enjoy a public school education, which he did, but not without its difficulties.  “Those were the toughest years … there was a lot of pointing and staring … but, oddly enough, it was sports that linked me to the rest of the kids,” Saul said.  One momentous afternoon in sixth grade, Saul rolled up to a basketball on the playground, threw it backwards over his head towards the goal, and fell in love with the game.  “You play basketball?” the other kids said in astonishment.  One classmate said, “That’s a weird way to throw a ball” and Saul replied, “Well, it’s the only way I can.” But, Saul had arrived.  “I was in the mix,” he said. “Whether playing or watching, sports are still a big part of my life.”

Luckily, Saul is stubborn.  “I’m very strong willed and have always made my own way.  I like to struggle to do my own stuff,” he said. So, his disability did not present a barrier to higher education. “A barrier is not going to stop me.  I’ll go around it or I’ll go through it,” Saul said.  In addition to the camaraderie of the game room, Saul benefited from his Midland College classes, in that they helped him overcome his shyness.  “I really opened up,” he said, citing Speech Professor Ty Tindall’s class as especially helpful.

Between classes the athletes would help Saul get to class, pushing his wheelchair, as his was not motorized. He made friends with all of the basketball players.  “This was all tied into how much I loved school,” Saul said.  Coach Jerry Stone invited him to practice and he became a big part of the basketball team, and the Chaps became a big part of Saul’s life.  In 1980 he was honored with the Chaparral Spirit Award for never having missed a game. 

After earning his Associate in General Studies Degree he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Telecommunications from Texas Tech University.  He found his years at MC to be great preparation for his success at Tech.  “MC provides a framework of stability for students to form a plan,” he said. 

After graduating, he returned to Midland and worked at the hospital for seven years.  It was there that he began his volunteer work which led him to the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), of which he has been director since 1996.  The mission of RSVP is to serve the elderly and disabled with services and resources.  “Whether it’s a hot meal, a phone call, a personal visit or doing their grocery shopping, we want people to remain at home and stay independent for as long as possible,” Saul said. 

One way RSVP helps seniors stay active is to recruit them as volunteers in community programs, such as Habitat for Humanity.  “These volunteers are 55, 65 and 75, and they are still hammering nails and painting,” Saul said.  For the eighth year in a row, as RSVP Director, Saul has helped recruit the volunteers for HEB’s Feast of Sharing.  “This past year we had over 500 volunteers that day, everybody contributing … it was a beautiful thing!” he added.

When he’s not busy coordinating “beautiful” things, Saul can be found at the Al G. Langford Chaparral Center watching MC basketball.  (No doubt he will be there tomorrow evening as the Chaparrals and Lady Chaparrals take on New Mexico Junior College.) “Once an MC Chap, always an MC Chap!” Saul said.