(Photo Courtesy of Christa Brelsford)ASU alumna Christa Brelsford travelled to Port au Prince, Haiti in January 2010, expecting only to work on a literacy project, learn about the community and find appropriate and effective means of resolving its issues.
She did not know that she would be among the victims of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated the island that winter, nor could she expect that she would lose her leg in the process.
This was one of the obstacles that Brelsford has had to overcome to become a world-champion paraclimber.
“The earthquake happened at 4:53 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon,” Brelsford said, remembering with no hesitation the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti that winter.
Brelsford was coming down the stairs of the house she was sharing with her brother and three Haitian co-workers, when the roof collapsed on her, and trapped her for about an hour.
When Brelsford was uncovered, it was clear that her leg could not be saved, she said.
“I was pretty scared. There was no magic surgery that was going to fix me; I had lost my leg,” Brelsford said.“But the point was to survive.”
After the earthquake, Brelsford said she felt lucky to be alive, and to have access to a high-level of medical care that the Haitians did not.
She has continued to pursue her passion for climbing, and went on to win the International Federation of Sport Climbing Paraclimbing World Championships in Gijon, Spain last month, which was her first international competition.
Brelsford had been rock climbing since the age of 12. Brelsford continued to relish the combination of the mental and physical challenges presented by a climb, she said.
“I don't get to climb on routes that have been set for paraclimbers very often, so it was really exciting to see what can be done,” Brelsford said.
In addition to myriad personal achievements she has accomplished, Brelsford also uses her talents to help her friends in Haiti who do not have access to the same resources, she said.
Christa Climbs for Haiti is Brelsford’s fundraising website, which seeks to raise $5,000 for education and community development through Haiti Partners Children’s Academy.
(Photo Courtesy of Christa Brelsford)In this way, Brelsford finds time to contribute to the betterment of the world in nearly every aspect of her life, through her work in sustainability as well as through her fundraising efforts.
“There’s a lot of privilege in the world, and we can do our part to make the world better by continuing to remember people in places that aren't as privileged as we are,” Brelsford said.
Brelsford’s philanthropy has not escaped the notice of ASU faculty member Christopher Boone, dean of ASU’s School of Sustainability, who remembers Brelsford from her days as his student and from watching her story on the news, he said.
“That’s the selfless nature of Christa. She’s an incredibly kind and generous person,” Boone said. “Whatever she takes on, she takes on with a dogged determination.”
Brelsford was born and raised in Alaska and pursued her undergraduate degree in physics at Simon’s Rock College in Massachusetts.
She then took a year off her studies to rock climb and see the world. Brelsford spent a portion of this time teaching preschool in Central America, and it was here that she began to discover the passions that would later lead her to ASU’s School of Sustainability.
After her year abroad, she attended Columbia University, where she earned an undergraduate degree in civil engineering, as well as a graduate degree in climate and society.
Brelsford then received her doctorate degree in sustainability, which she completed this year, from ASU.
“I was really looking at ways that I could use the academic research that I wanted to do, to contribute to the world,” Brelsford said. “It seemed like there was enough flexibility within the school (of sustainability) that I would be able to do whatever I wanted to do.”
Brelsford currently works as a postdoctoral fellow at the Santa Fe Institute, under the advisory of Luis Bettencourt, a professor who believes that she is doing wonderful work with both human and neighborhood development, he said.
“I think she cares about (her work) on a personal level, but … I think she feels that one of the best ways to contribute to that, she does other things too, but it's through the science that she does,” Bettencourt said.
Although the injuries Brelsford sustained in the Haiti earthquake presented her with new challenges, Brelsford persevered in the same way that a climber must persevere to reach the top of his climb.
“No matter what kind of body you have you go there, you get to a climb, you pick one that you think is difficult but doable, then you figure out how to do it with the body you have,” Brelsford said.
Reach the reporter at ekamezak@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @emikamezaki
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