UM-Dearborn Student Overcomes Disability to Graduate at Top of Class

The undergraduate students of University of Michigan-Dearborn's Class of 2012 may have followed different paths to graduation, but few could top the one Josef Zenicki traveled in December.

“I don’t worry about obstacles. I always know there are ways around them,” said Josef Zenicki, a recent University of Michigan-Dearborn graduate with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting.

Zenicki uses a wheelchair and has very limited use of his hands, but maintained a 3.96 GPA, earning him the honor of high distinction and a chancellor’s medallion, which is awarded to only six students each semester.

He also earned a dean’s scholarship, the FEI Academic Excellence Award, and the J. Steward Linden Foundation Scholarship.

“He is definitely a success story,” said Robert Sims, a support coordinator for Community Living Services said. “He has limitations but figured out ways to manage them so he could pursue his dream. I’m so proud of him.”

Community Living Services, Inc. has been working with Zenicki since 2007. CLS is a non-profit organization that provides support and services to seniors, veterans, and people with developmental, physical and intellectual disabilities living in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

Zenicki managed his classes with the help of his mother and an assistant. He interned at Federal Mogul Corporation and at Ernst and Young while he was working as an undergraduate. He also volunteered at the Accounting Aid Society as a tax preparer for low-income families as well as at Junior Achievement.

Zenicki is continuing his education at UM-Dearborn while working toward his CPA license. He has accepted a full-time job at the office of Ernst and Young.