ECOT’s Boston Alum Speaks from the Heart
Juliana Merhaut has watched her city of Boston pull itself together after a nightmarish terrorist attack. Now the ECOT alum speaks about overcoming a more personal battle.
The Youngstown native arrived at the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow while suffering through a painful condition known as dysautonomia. “Basically, my heart and brain don’t communicate properly,” she said. Merhaut has firm control over the issue today. But that wasn’t always the case. “When I was in high school, it was very out of control,” she said. “It was very hard to get medication and keep on the right treatment schedule.” Excruciating medical complications kept her chained to the hospital as she suffered from fainting, seizures, and fatigue. “I was so sick in my traditional high school, they were telling me I may not even graduate,” she said. “They said it would take me at least a year or two longer.” Unwilling to accept the delay, Merhaut bowed out of her school and enrolled in ECOT. And it made all the difference in the world. “When I transferred to ECOT, I was so good academically, it was just my body failing,” she said. “I could work at my own pace. I could get ahead, and then if I was having health troubles, I could use being ahead to just ride the wave a little.” It was the flexibility ECOT offered which kept her from graduating late. Originally slated to finish high school in 2006, she earned her diploma with the class of 2005. “It gave me some extra time in undergrad because of my health issues,” she said. Her strong grades at ECOT even allowed the young woman to enter college with a full academic scholarship. Merhaut eventually received the treatment and control she needed, which let her flourish. In fact, she’s just finished graduate school. Her hard work, along with the flexibility of ECOT, allowed her to overcome terrible pain and come out on top.
She described the whole scene as “surreal” and admitted having trouble even grasping the words to accurately paint a picture.
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