Downingtown Native Conquers Tourettes Syndrome to Give Graduation Speech at Her University

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Diana Sears
Image via The Daily Local News.
Diana Sears.

Downingtown native Diana Sears spoke of “finding her own resilience” since being diagnosed with Tourettes Syndrome — a diagnosis that she did not let stop her from being the featured student speaker at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, reports The Daily Local News.

During the commencement ceremony on Dec. 15, Sears told her peers that she was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome (TS) in second grade. Yet, she decided to chase her dreams and not let anything hold her back.

TS is a condition of the nervous system which causes people to have “tics.” Tics are uncontrollable sudden twitches, movements, or sounds that people do repeatedly.

“We can change the world because of who we are,” said Sears in her speech. “We represent 69 countries from around the globe, students with disabilities, veterans, students identifying with the LGBTQ+ community, and more. We are trailblazers, with many being first-generation college students, and first to become a pilot or engineer.”

While at Embry-Riddle, Sears earned five internship positions and her Private Pilot’s License. Additionally, she earned Embry-Riddle’s Sorority Woman of the Year award and was the president of the Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society and the Senior Class Council.

She graduated with a degree in Aerospace Engineering. Now, she plans to starts her career at Boeing Phantom Works as a mechanical design engineer.

Read more about Diana Sears in The Daily Local News.

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