Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Professor Fighting Discrimination Step by Step
Fresh out of college, packing a sparkling resume, Paul Steven Miller drew the attention of dozens of prestigious law firms. But every one of the firms ruled out the 4-foot-5-inch candidate as soon as they laid eyes on him. ...
He couldn't use the lectern, couldn't use the sprawling whiteboard, either. But he knew how to work a room. He'd spent a lifetime doing that.
...
"He found a way to get involved in everything he could, despite his physical constraints," recalled his older sister, Margie Piqueira.
At his suburban Long Island high school, he didn't shy away from the hulking football players. He found a way to join them -- as the team statistician. ...
Miller was born with achondroplasia, the most common genetic condition that results in dwarfism. There are more than 200 types of dwarfism, causing some form of disability in 1 out of 40,000 children in the United States.
His parents told him he could achieve anything he wanted.
"They gave me a tremendous amount of self-confidence," he said. "Those are great things to have -- to be able to believe in yourself and have others believe in you."
...
Stung by the discrimination he'd experienced, he was a man on a mission. "I felt compelled to do something more meaningful with my career that would have an impact," he said.
That work would lead him to a post with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission -- and a chance encounter with his future wife. ...
Shortly after they married, in 1997, the couple left their apartment in a taxi. Miller was dropped off first. Moments later, the driver turned to Mechem and began quizzing her: "Why do you like short man? Does he have a lot of money? Does he treat you good?"
"It was just flabbergasting," Mechem recalled. "When I told Paul about it later, he just laughed about it. He said it was absurd you should have to justify your relationship to a cab driver."
They now have a 4-year-old daughter, Naomi, who is beginning to realize that her father is different. ...
"I'm an oddity. They've never seen anyone like me," he said. "Is he an adult or a kid? A daddy or a boy?"
Naomi already knows the answer. "That's my daddy," she said. "He's small." ...
Fresh out of college, packing a sparkling resume, Paul Steven Miller drew the attention of dozens of prestigious law firms. But every one of the firms ruled out the 4-foot-5-inch candidate as soon as they laid eyes on him. ...
He couldn't use the lectern, couldn't use the sprawling whiteboard, either. But he knew how to work a room. He'd spent a lifetime doing that.
...
"He found a way to get involved in everything he could, despite his physical constraints," recalled his older sister, Margie Piqueira.
At his suburban Long Island high school, he didn't shy away from the hulking football players. He found a way to join them -- as the team statistician. ...
Miller was born with achondroplasia, the most common genetic condition that results in dwarfism. There are more than 200 types of dwarfism, causing some form of disability in 1 out of 40,000 children in the United States.
His parents told him he could achieve anything he wanted.
"They gave me a tremendous amount of self-confidence," he said. "Those are great things to have -- to be able to believe in yourself and have others believe in you."
...
Stung by the discrimination he'd experienced, he was a man on a mission. "I felt compelled to do something more meaningful with my career that would have an impact," he said.
That work would lead him to a post with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission -- and a chance encounter with his future wife. ...
Shortly after they married, in 1997, the couple left their apartment in a taxi. Miller was dropped off first. Moments later, the driver turned to Mechem and began quizzing her: "Why do you like short man? Does he have a lot of money? Does he treat you good?"
"It was just flabbergasting," Mechem recalled. "When I told Paul about it later, he just laughed about it. He said it was absurd you should have to justify your relationship to a cab driver."
They now have a 4-year-old daughter, Naomi, who is beginning to realize that her father is different. ...
"I'm an oddity. They've never seen anyone like me," he said. "Is he an adult or a kid? A daddy or a boy?"
Naomi already knows the answer. "That's my daddy," she said. "He's small." ...
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