After she was in a head-on collision, a surgeon told Joyce Hickson she’d never walk again. Two years later she’s walking, but it’s been quite a journey. She’ll talk about tools for recovering from a catastrophe.

Joyce Hickson’s career prepared her to help others. She earned a doctorate in counseling from Mississippi State University and completed post-doctorate training at Northwestern University. She also served on the faculty at Mississippi State and then relocated to Johannesburg, South Africa where she established two graduate counseling programs at South Africa’s largest university. After seven years there, she moved to Columbus. She spent the next 12 years at Columbus State University, where she chaired the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services.

After Hickson retired, she served five years as a senior case manager at Goodwill Industries.She also was a delegation leader for groups of scholars for People to People, an organization founded by Dwight Eisenhower. She led three delegations to the People’s Republic of China and to South Africa.

Now she volunteers at Goodwill, Hope Harbour and other agencies, and she’s a member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Columbus. The story of her recovery from severe injuries offers lessons and inspiration for us all.

Visitors are always welcome Sundays (and at our other activities). Children’s Religious Education is on summer break, but childcare is still available Sunday from 9:30 a.m. until noon. Here’s the rest of the Sunday schedule:

• 9:30 a.m. UU Singers Practice
• 9:30 a.m. Adult Religious Education. Jim Humphries leads a session on a lecture by Dr. Wanda A. Hendricks of the University of South Carolina titled, “Elements of Continuity: Reflections on Fannie Barrier Williams and Being a Black Woman in The Academy.”
• 10:15 a.m. Join us for coffee and conversation before the service.
• 10:45 a.m. Sunday Service. In this week’s speaker is Joyce Hickson (above).