Scott Benedict
Bachelor of Arts in German

In the second week of the 1999-2000 school year, Benedict discovered he had multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease that doctors say will land him in a wheelchair in five to 10 years. Benedict, 28, of Los Angeles, took one day off from school to grapple with the implications of the disease, then went right back to classes.

“The week before school started, my entire right side went numb from my neck all the way down,” Benedict recalled. “The test results came back on a Monday night. Tuesday, I just couldn’t bear to go to school. I just had to sit and reflect on it, let it all sink in, but then I went right back to school Wednesday. I took my day, that was it. Time to get back to work.

“There were days when I’d wake up and try to stand up and I couldn’t. I’d fall to the floor,” Benedict said. Only then did Benedict miss classes.

The painkillers he took merely numbed the pain. “Going up and down the stairs was hard. All my classes are on the third floor. But I don’t like to take the elevators, even though it’s painful and I have to pull myself up the last flight of stairs, because I want to use my legs while I can, before I have to be in a wheelchair,” Benedict said.

Despite his struggles, Benedict still was a standout student, always prepared for class, always contributing to class discussions. He plans to return to CSUN for postgraduate studies.

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