Mashauna Black Keeps Following Her Passion

Mashauna Black measures her success by celebrating the success of others. The 48-year-old YWCA Gateway to Success Program Director, who lives with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD), finds joy in educating, empowering, and motivating others to live healthier.

Finding a path that fits

Mashauna visited Las Vegas with her cousin.

Mashauna always knew she wanted a career in healthcare, so she enrolled at the National College of Business and Tech in Andover, Virginia, to pursue a degree in nursing. While she was in college and working as a guard at a correctional facility, she began experiencing muscle weakness and pain in her back and hips. After a few misdiagnoses, she learned that she has LGMD.

Mashauna realized that she needed a career path that was less physically demanding, but she didn’t want to give up on her goals. She changed course at school and earned a medical secretary diploma. “I adapted the track I was on so I could still be in the field where my passion is and use my skills to serve others,” she says. “Now, I am still in the medical field, but in a different way, working to help people.”

Mashauna’s muscle fatigue and weakness progressed after graduation, and she began using a cane and wheelchair for mobility. She moved back to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with her mother and joined her local YWCA, where she built relationships with the staff and other members. Mashauna began working at the front desk, and it wasn’t long before she was promoted to direct the Gateway to Success program for individuals living with diabetes. Now, she uses her passion and skill set to educate prediabetic and diabetic YWCA members about healthy cooking and eating on a budget.

“I am so grateful to be where I am, and I believe God has a plan for my life,” Mashauna says. “Once I found my purpose, it made it so much easier for me to keep going and growing. Getting to see the success of our members and the smiles on their faces when their blood sugar numbers come down, when they step on a scale and have lost a few pounds, when they learn a new dish, or when they bring in a recipe to share with the group is so rewarding.”

Independence and community

Because she was already well-known at the YWCA, Mashauna did not need to decide whether to disclose her disability when interviewing for the position. Her team provides informal support, assisting with transfers to her desk chair and other hands-on assistance as needed. Mashauna drives herself to work with her mother, who also teaches classes at the YWCA, and receives assistance to transfer from the car to her wheelchair. “I can do everything I need to for my job, with or without my wheelchair,” she says. “And I have the support of my ‘village’ of employees if there is a task I cannot do.”

Mashauna values this balance between independence and accepting assistance when needed. She also must balance her health and financial needs with her job. “I know what hours I need to work and how many days I need to work to keep the balance,” she says. “I work four hours a day, three to four days a week, and no more than that. I understand that my body needs to rest, and I also need to keep tabs on how many hours I work to ensure I don’t risk losing my disability benefits.” (Read Ready to Work: How People with Disabilities Balance Benefits and Employment)

Living on her own terms

Pursuing her passion and adjusting her path as her disability progresses has taught Mashauna the value of embracing who she is and everything she can do. When she began using a wheelchair, she worried about what others would think, but she has grown to embrace the mindset that her wheelchair gives her the freedom to pursue work, leisure, and travel.

“It took me a minute to get here, but I learned that I can still do the things I want; I just may have to do them in a different way, and I understand that is OK,” she says. “I may be a bit slower, but I still get out. I travel, I get my nails and hair done, and I dress up. You have to step into your own zone and dig deep — and know you are worth it. We are all made to be different in some way. You don’t have to follow the leader and do what everyone else does. You just have to follow your own passion.”

Rebecca Hume is a Senior Specialist and Writer for Quest Media.