ATHENS – Most people immediately notice the motorized wheelchair Athens High School senior Troy Young uses. Spend five minutes talking to Troy, however, and the wheelchair seems to disappear.

Thanks to a combination of his sharp intellect, delightful humor and personal charisma, Young puts others at ease. His parents say Troy has always possessed this ability, a superpower of sorts.

“I just start talking to them,” Troy said. “They figure it out pretty quick. It’s not something that affects me mentally at all. It’s just the physical part of it.

“That’s the thing, trying to keep it normal for the other person, too,” he added. “I guess I do a good job of that. I don’t want it to be awkward.”

Troy, confined to a wheelchair, was born with arthrogryposis, a rare joint disorder that essentially made him a quadriplegic. A combination of numerous surgeries and constant physical therapy has helped, but he still needs assistance with everyday tasks like eating, dressing, and bathing. An in-school aide accompanies him to all his classes.

While some people endure physical challenges, Troy has overcome his.

He spent six years as a member of the Athens High School swimming team and qualified for the AHSAA State Championships as a senior. He carries a 4.16 GPA, scored 32 on the ACT college entrance exam, works a cop-op job at the Limestone County Courthouse and was voted Mr. AHS by his peers.

He is also he’s one of 52 regional winners in the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Program’s Achievement category, which honors senior athletes who have overcome personal adversity to excel. All regional winners receive a $3,000 scholarship and could win more when statewide winners are announced at the annual Bryant-Jordan banquet April 10 in Birmingham. More than $10 million in scholarship aid has been presented by the Bryant-Jordan program since its inception in 1986.

“He’s going to be able to change people’s lives, and he has changed people’s lives since he’s been here,” Athens Principal Willie Moore said. “They see that he doesn’t focus on the negative. Being an athlete, being a swimmer, the way we go out and do something, he’s still going out and does it too, even if it may take him longer.

“All you’ve got to do is give Troy the opportunity. I’m 100 percent confident he can get the job done no matter what it is.”

Troy’s swimming career

Troy started swimming at age 3 at the suggestion of a physical therapist and joined a local swim club as an elementary school student. During competitions, an assistant swam alongside and helped him.

How does a quadriplegic swim? Troy can’t use his arms, but his strong core and leg muscles allow him to employ a stroke that largely mimics a porpoise. He needs assistance getting into and out of the pool.

An assistant continued to assist Troy when he joined the high school swim team as a seventh grader. Soon, though, his father suggested he set a goal of swimming a complete 50-yard race with no assistance. He accomplished that goal as a high school freshman.

“Unintentionally, they were helping him along in the water,” said his father, Derrick Young. “I thought, well, you want this to be your accomplishment as much as you possibly can. Once they got their hands off – and he knew all along – he could do this. We thought it could all be him, even if it slowed him down.”

The Youngs said they received no resistance from youth or high school swimming officials about whether Troy should compete. At first, Troy said some people “probably thought, What the heck?’” but that quickly dissipated.

“The support he got from the beginning was overwhelming,” Derrick Young said. “Everybody was always encouraging, impressed he was even on the team. It was a great thing for him – the camaraderie of teammates, (and) he wasn’t treated any differently. Just like at home. He gets in trouble. He doesn’t get any special treatment at home.

“It wasn’t everybody fawning over Troy all the time. He was part of the team,” he continued. “That’s how we like it. If it’s all about Troy all the time, that’s not good either. They just treat him like another team member.”

Here comes the Judge

Troy became interested in pursuing a law career a few years ago, which led to a cop-op job as an intern at the Limestone County Courthouse.

He’s been able to observe jury and bench trials and interact with the county’s judges, and he often eats lunch with Circuit Court Judge Chad Wise.

“I will admit I was a little concerned about how we would assist him,” Wise said, “but he’s very relaxed about what his situation is. It’s obviously something he’s lived with his entire life. Once we spent a couple of days with him, all of that went away and now he is just a regular, but very smart, high school kid.

“When he comes into my office after a trial,” the judge continued, “he just seems to know to ask all the right questions. It’s unusual, no question about it. As far as his intellectual and emotional maturity, it’s just very developed for someone his age.”

Troy’s immersion in the local legal system has confirmed his desire to seek a law degree. He plans to enroll at the University of Alabama in the fall and study finance or another business-related discipline before heading to law school. He has been awarded a presidential scholarship to UA.

At Boys State last summer, Troy was elected as the state Supreme Court Justice, perhaps a preview to his future. “I said, ‘I don’t want to see your face on a billboard,’” Derrick joked.

Whatever happens, those who know Troy see a bright future for him.

“He’s definitely the servant leader of our school,” Moore said. “That’s why the student body chose him as Mr. AHS, and that’s one of the top honors you can get here at Athens High School. That speaks volumes. It doesn’t have anything to do with him being in a wheelchair. It is about what you do. He says a lot, but his words become actions. So, he’s not just saying it. He’s doing it. He’s inspired me. He’s inspired our staff. He’s inspired his peers.”