A strategic plan for the future

Sena Pottackal was just 15 when a visit to a doctor for headaches pinpointed a genetic disorder that was rendering her legally blind.

Her world darkening, the Cherry Hill teenager – a Long Island transplant – slowly reckoned with the things she would never do. At the top of the list was her dream of driving a car.

"Now I can barely see the fingers in front of my face," says Pottackal, a rising public relations professional who graduated with a 3.82 grade point average from Rowan University’s College of Communication & Creative Arts on Thursday, May 14.

In addition to her public relations major, Pottackal earned minors in advertising and communication studies. But academics only begin to tell her story.

Pottackal this year earned the James M. Lynch Courage in Adversity Award, a University medallion, for her unflagging spirit.

An academic all-star, she’s been on the dean’s list every semester since transferring to Rowan from Camden County College and, in December 2013, made the President’s Scholars of Excellence list for carrying a perfect 4.0 GPA.

She’s earned top grades while maintaining a roster of extracurricular activities. Active in Rowan’s Anthony J. Fulginiti chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) – named outstanding PRSSA chapter in the nation a record eight times – she helped the group win the Dr. F.H. Teahan Chapter Award for Best Chapter Firm (PRaction) in 2014.

Pottackal this year was co-chair of logistics for Organ Donor Day, a Rowan tradition for decades, was an external publicity committee member for Crossfire 2014, a debate held last fall, and was a consultant for PRaction, the University’s student-run public relations firm.

And she’s done it all with grace, humor and agility.

"Some people think of me as a nerd, because I’m so into my classes," she says. "Then there are others who know me as the blind girl who runs around campus on four-inch heels."

Displaying said stiletto pumps, Pottackal uses a collapsible cane to navigate hallways, sidewalks and street crossings, but relies on technology to assist with reading and writing. Yet, her reliance on adaptive technology, like screen readers that make text audible, came slowly, with caution, and that reluctance nearly caused her to fail out of college.

"At Camden County College, I didn’t ask for adaptive technologies," says the 2007 Cherry Hill High School East graduate. "I was just very stubborn. I refused to recognize that I had a visual impairment, that I even needed a cane."

At the county college, she says, she failed two out of four classes in her first semester and considered dropping out. But her mother suggested slowing down, going part time, and seeking out resources available to her.

"I got a 4.0 my last semester there, going full time, before transferring to Rowan," she says.

Technology helps, but only so much

At Rowan, Pottackal says, she embraced the support and adaptive technology offered through the University’s Academic Success Center & Disability Resources.

But she says it was her personal network – her parents, her sister Lisha (who acquired the same genetic disorder and subsequent blindness she has), her brother Joseph, faculty and friends – who really helped her through.

"The reason I am able to be successful is I am aware of my strengths and weaknesses," she says. "Public relations is about building and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships and I personally know the value in this. I have been building and maintaining relationships for myself and can go out and do it for someone else."

Still, beneath the technology, the support, the love of family and friends, is a bedrock of very hard work. Graduating with 33 credits more than she needs for her degree, Pottackal says she routinely stays up all hours, reviewing and polishing her work until it shines.

Suzanne FitzGerald, chair of the Department of Public Relations & Advertising within Rowan’s College of Communication & Creative Arts, says Pottackal’s drive is remarkable.

"I have Sena in class now," FitzGerald says. "I’ve had her for two capstone courses and she’s amazing. She memorizes her whole presentation and gives it flawlessly."

Ready for the next step

A self-described foodie, Pottackal almost went to college for cooking. But a day before submitting her check to Drexel University’s culinary arts program, she changed her mind.

"My sister Lisha talked me out of it," she says. "She reminded me that I am an excellent communicator and that, really, a commercial kitchen would not be the safest place for me."

Not that she’s looking for "safe."

Though she cannot drive (her dream was to chauffer her sister around), Pottackal, while at Camden County College, made her first skydive and looks forward to jumping again.

Expecting her vision to deteriorate further, after graduating Pottackal will enroll in a seven- to 11-month program for the vision-impaired in Baltimore. There, she’ll learn not just to cope with her loss of sight but to excel with it.

During at least part of the training, she will be blindfolded, taught everyday skills like cooking and baking in a home kitchen, and taught to read Braille.

And then, hopefully, she’ll be off to New York University for a master’s degree in public relations.

"Before moving to Cherry Hill, my family lived in a small town on Long Island and it’s always been my dream to go to NYU," she says.

Pottackal loves the strategic nature of public relations, of applying finely-honed communication skills to business objectives, and sees in New York boundless opportunity.

"I know I am completely capable of excelling in this profession," she says. "I experienced failure once, and I never want to again."