Page 12 - Access Magazine 2023

Carried on the FAMILY shoulders of
BY DOUGLAS HOAGLAND
Chandrahas Vishnumolakala worried about loneliness when he came to Fresno State from India. Born with spina bifida, he has difficulty walking, and he doubted that he’d get to make friends. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
Vishnumolakala – who goes by Sai – quickly had a thriving social life because of his personality. “People get along well with me because I’m funny, and I’m able to make jokes,” he says. “I’m also smart. But it’s my humor that gets me into the circle.”
He traces his easy-going ways to his father. “He’s the coolest guy. He’s calm and composed.” His father supported Sai’s rationale for wanting to study computer science in the United States. “There are better opportunities here, and I also wanted a look at the culture.” Fresno State’s proximity to the technology industry in the Bay Area made the university a good choice. But Sai’s mother was reluctant to see her only child go so far away, and she worried that he’d have dif- ficulties because of the spina bifida. So Sai’s father accompanied him to Fresno State in 2022, met the staff at the International Office and concluded the campus was a good fit. “My mom was happy when my dad told her, ‘I’ve seen it. He can manage this on his own.’ ”
Sai, 21, is close to his family, and different members have played key roles since he was born with myelomeningocele. It’s the most severe form of spina bifida, which results in a portion of the spinal cord or nerves exposed in a sac through an opening in the spine. He was only 18 hours old when he had the first of many corrective surger- ies. His mother left her career in computer science to care for him, and his grandfather carried him on his shoulders to and from school because his legs were weak. His father always encouraged Sai to do new things. “If I wanted to go on a school trip, my dad was like, ‘Go on. Here’s the money. Take it and go.’ ” Both of his parents became his cheerleaders in life.
“They never really stopped me from doing anything. If anything, they pushed me to go for it. That’s why I’m so social.”
Sai’s physical challenges haven’t kept him from getting involved at the university. He worked one semester as a student assistant in the International Office and made an impact. Jasmine Cao, his adviser in the office, says his “outgoing and optimistic personality” served him and others well.
12 California State University, FRESNO