There’s No Stopping Steve…
Stephen Statham has been working for the Canadian government in the corrections department for almost twenty years, and his hobbies range from photography to scuba diving to hiking and camping. Did I mention he has Stargardt’s disease and has been a ZoomText user since version 7?
At the age of 17, Steve saw a specialist in Ottawa who informed him that his vision would get progressively worse. Being the driven and determined man that he is, Steve went on to major in journalism and photography. Over the years he’s been a freelance photographer and worked in radio and print journalism. He later changed careers and went to work for Fredon-Alcatel where he was required to drive all over his territory to make sales. One day, however, he realized that he could no longer read the road signs and had to stop driving. Instead of submitting to his disease and going on disability insurance, he forged ahead and changed careers yet again by applying for a job with the federal government.
He started in human resources and while managing databases there, he took computer science courses on the side at Ryerson and Ottawa University. This eventually led to his current position of Project Officer in the IT Service Management division of the Canadian Correctional Service. On top of his job duties, Steve is also the union representative and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) rep as well.
“The Canadian Federal Government is really big on employment equity,” says Steve. “I can pretty much get whatever equipment that I need, including ZoomText. As the EAP rep, I really have a deep understanding of what people are going through and have firsthand knowledge of where to point people for assistance.”
It was by accident that Steve stumbled across ZoomText. He learned about it at the CNIB in Ottawa and once he found it, there was no turning back.
“I’m the biggest ZoomText advocate there is,” says Steve. “And trust me, I’ve tried every program out there and ZoomText is the best. I couldn’t do my job without it – it’s just a godsend.”
When Steve isn’t busy at his job or with his family - his three daughters are the reason he cites for having no hair - he is engaged in a vast array of hobbies. One in particular was just fascinating: something called “geocaching”. Having never heard of it before, Steve explained it as follows: people go out and hide objects in containers and post the hidden objects’ geographical points online. Using a GPS, others can go out in search of these items. If you find it, you can take it but have to leave an item in its place and sign the guestbook at www.geocaching.com. Basically, it’s a high-tech treasure hunt! Steve said the biggest benefit of this besides the great exercise is seeing places that he never even knew existed, even in his own backyard of Ottawa.
Steve is certified in scuba diving, enjoys kayaking, biking on the many great paths in Canada, cooking (he notes spice soup and shrimp curry as two of his specialties), devours audio books, and plays guitar. Additionally, he and his wife Nancy love to camp - although Steve admits that Nancy has a terrible sense of direction so he had to buy a GPS for the car since he can’t navigate. His project for this winter is reviving his love of photography - he has a Canon Rebel SLR with a big 2” screen on the back, and by using his handheld pocket magnifier which he carries everywhere, he can see the pictures he’s taking.
“Nothing is going to slow me down,” says Steve. “Well, maybe it will slow me down, but nothing is going to stop me! My philosophy is why get my knickers in a twist about something I can’t change? Sure I miss certain things like driving a motorcycle but I choose to focus on the things I can still do. As long as you break your life into manageable pieces, anything is possible.”
We are just inspired by all that Steve has accomplished and wish him the very best in all his future endeavors!
