Remy smiles at the camera while seated at a table with a laptop. She is wearing a bright pink sweater. Behind her is a wall-mounted rack of adaptive equipment.

This month, Achieve Tahoe has the pleasure of sharing an interview conducted by Remy, this year’s communications intern, with her dad, her mom, and her step-mom. Remy has been an Achieve Tahoe participant for the past 20 years, as she has hemi-paresis and uses a power wheelchair. Her interview shares her family’s perspective on both her time skiing with Achieve Tahoe, and on her dad’s time as an Achieve Tahoe volunteer.

Remy: My name is Remy Zerber and I have been skiing with Achieve Tahoe since I was five. Adaptive skiing has had a very positive impact on my life. It has shown me that what I did not think was possible is possible. Skiing with Achieve Tahoe has also allowed me to meet other people in wheelchairs and do something that I would not have been able to do otherwise. This winter I was a communications intern. As an intern I got to see everything that happens behind the scenes and participate in some of it, like our newsletter stories. For this month’s newsletter, I interviewed my family about their experience both volunteering with and watching me ski at Achieve Tahoe.

Remy: To start, Dad, what was it like volunteering at Achieve Tahoe?

Kevin (Remy’s Dad): I started volunteering there when you started skiing there, in 2005. At first it was to allow you more freedom and safety to be able to enjoy the mountain, but I quickly saw the bigger value in helping an organization that I quickly came to believe in. The opportunity to work with all kinds of students was amazing.  As a parent myself I knew how the other parents felt when their child could get out on the mountain, even for a few minutes to a few hours. I was very happy to volunteer my time to help create that opportunity for as many people as possible.

Remy: What inspired you to volunteer?

Kevin, Remy’s Dad, wearing a blue Achieve Tahoe instructor jacket and mirrored ski goggles, is skiing behind Remy while guiding her sit-ski with tethers. Remy, in a pink helmet, white and blue ski outfit, and ski goggles, is leaning into the turn.

Kevin: Really, it was you. Because you were more medically fragile back then, when the team at Achieve asked me if I were interested in volunteering to initially start helping you, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. But after going through the training and working with other students, it’s easy to see that this was a great opportunity.

Remy: What did you expect going into volunteering with Achieve? 

Kevin: I don’t know that I had any expectations going into volunteering, I just wanted to help you get back on the mountain and that seemed like the easiest way to do that. But after the training and working every time with other students and families, I was able to see the huge potential of giving back with my time and skills.

Remy: Do you remember a story from when you volunteered?

Kevin: I remember a time, probably in 2006 or 2007, when you had previously only bi-skied on Subway and Meadow (green runs) at Alpine.  But that day you had Dave Littman as your instructor. He took you all over the mountain to places you had never been before. It was a grand tour of Alpine and while you were a little afraid at first, you relaxed and enjoyed the experience.  I think that day was one of your best on the mountain.

Remy: That was fun! I also remember when I did a run on the back of Alpine and I met the ski patrol dogs. I remember I got some trading cards with the dogs on them. That was at the top of Sherwood. We also did another run called Lake View. I was skiing with you and Dave. I remember seeing the view of the lake. Were you nervous for me to start skiing with Achieve Tahoe?

Kevin: I was nervous at first. You had skied before, and I knew that you enjoyed being on the mountain, but I was worried as to how you would handle the new situation you were in. But, after the first few runs, I could see how you enjoyed it and how it was safe for you, and my concerns went away.

Remy: I remember I was excited to start skiing with Achieve Tahoe. I am so glad we found Achieve Tahoe because it showed me that disabled people can do sports and I could join my family when they ski. I didn’t have to wait in the lodge for you to come back.

Mom and Julie, how do you think Achieve Tahoe influenced my life?

Remy, seated in her wheelchair and dressed for a special occasion with a leopard print jacket, smiles while surrounded by her family. Her mom, Jamie, stands behind her.

Jamie (Remy’s Mom):  Through Achieve Tahoe, you were able to be part of the group and not get “left behind” as many disabled people are due to barriers in their participation in life. In addition, thanks to Achieve Tahoe, your family was able to enjoy outdoor family time together which is super important. Lastly, it showed you that there are many disabled people out there enjoying life and being normal, meaning disabled people are normal.

Julie (Remy’s step-mom): Adaptive skiing has been a powerful influence on your life. It provides you an opportunity to experience a unique and exhilarating activity that many may have thought not possible due to your disabilities. It offers you the freedom of gliding down the mountain!

Remy: It does! I have been told that I skied during a blizzard my first day in 2005 and I stayed out for my whole lesson. I think I was excited to be able to ski again after getting sick.

Mom, what is a stigma you would like to break about people with disabilities?

Jamie: I’d like to see more inclusion from the get-go for disabled people. If young kids interacted with disabled people from the earliest days of their life, everyone would see and understand disabled people are just like everyone else.

Remy: And I would like to break the stigma that people with disabilities can’t go outside and enjoy their lives.

Thank you all for speaking with me. To wrap-up, I have one last question for you Dad. What have you learned from skiing with Achieve Tahoe with me? 

Remy sits smiling in her wheelchair with eight family members surrounding her. Behind her stands her stepmom Julie in a tan shirt, and to to the left is Remy’s dad, Kevin in a blue vest. The background is a Christmas theme.

Kevin: I learned that it can be a simple (and sometimes not-so-easy) thing, like getting back out on the snow, that can give you back some of the life that you lost after your medical incident. It made a huge difference to you and your life, and I think it showed you that you can have more freedom than you thought you could out on the snow. As a parent, I can appreciate how it changed your life for the better and that’s all I needed to see for me to be happier and pleased for you.

Thank you, Remy, for interviewing your family and sharing your stories with the Achieve Tahoe community! We cannot wait to see what you do post-internship and are looking forward to seeing you this summer and skiing with you again next winter.