Eleven years after an accident took one of his legs, Brett Falkenberg, 33, is back at NIU in his second-to-last semester working toward a second degree in journalism.

Falkenberg says the reason for going to school after his accident was “for himself.”

“I did it all on my own. It’s something I felt I should do on my own,” he said.

In between receiving a philosophy degree from NIU nine years ago and his current quest for a second degree, Brett worked for Little City Foundation, a camp in Palatine for adults and children with developmental disabilities.

“I did like it to a point,” he said. “It got too easy. It wasn’t as challenging as I would like it to be. A lot of the staff underneath me thought it was a baby-sitting job.”

The staff did not want to give the people at the camp any opportunities to find jobs or do anything with them except stick them in front of the television, Falkenberg said.

“Take them to McDonald’s; that would make them happy,” Falkenberg said.

Falkenberg said he was forced to go when the staff wouldn’t comply with his wishes.

“I didn’t want to be a [jerk] about it, so I hired a good replacement and took off,” he said.

He got involved in the organization because of his past experiences.

“Self-imposed community service, I suppose,” he said. “[During] my younger years I was pretty much a drug addict.”

He admitted to doing cocaine and heroin while in high school.

“I spent two years at Park Ridge Youth Campus,” he said.

He described the place as somewhere for children who are not doing what they’re supposed to be doing.

Brett said that going there hurt more than helped his high school career.

The focus of that school was on behavior and not on classes, he said.

“My main behavior was not going to school,” he said.

Falkenberg’s recovery from the accident helped him get over his drug problem.

“A couple months in the hospital will sober you up pretty good,” he said. “I spent the first two weeks unconscious.”

During those two weeks, Falkenberg got most of the drugs out of his system.

While in the hospital, Falkenberg’s girlfriend left him. He said all he could do was “pick up the pieces and move on.”

Also during his stay, Falkenberg was approached by someone from the Department of Rehabilitation Services and was offered a scholarship to go to school.

Brett said he likes going to class now and enjoys ethics and metaphysics in philosophy.

Coming back to his old life after leaving the hospital was difficult for him. For a short while, he used a wheelchair to get around.

“When you’re sitting at home and your drug addict friends come, what am I gonna say, ‘You’re gonna have to push me around?'”