SCARBOROUGH – Ever since Monica Quimby of Scarborough was left paralyzed by a skiing accident at Sunday River in January 2006, she has been working toward showing others that such a handicap does not need to get into the way of pursuing one’s goals.

Now Quimby, 23, is setting her sights on spreading that message across the nation.

On March 12, Quimby won the Ms. Wheelchair Maine competition, earning her a trip to Ms. Wheelchair America, taking place in Grand Rapids, Mich., Aug. 1-7. She is now raising funds to cover the cost of the trip.

Her inspiration to enter the state competition, she said, came when she happened upon the Ms. Wheelchair America website during a school break at Southern Maine Community College, where she works as an adjunct professor of biology.

“I looked at their website and saw all these empowering women who are defying the odds and sending a positive message,” Quimby said. “I decided that is something I am interested in getting involved with.”

While the Ms. Wheelchair competition involves an interview session, pageant dresses and a platform speech, Quimby said it is different from other pageants.

“It is not based on beauty whatsoever,” she said. “It is based on inner beauty, personality, achievement and how you present yourself.”

According to the group’s website, the Ms. Wheelchair America competition, which started in 1972, selects one individual to serve as a spokeswoman for people with disabilities and communicate the needs and accomplishments of those with disabilities to the general public, as well as to business and governmental groups. The national winner also strives to “eliminate the architectural and attitudinal barriers” and highlight the accomplishments of the millions of people with disabilities across the country, the website said.

Through this experience, Quimby said, she wants to show others that there are no limits to what a person with a disability can do.

Amanda Hansell, a classmate of Quimby’s at the University of New Hampshire, said Quimby is a good example of that. After suffering the injuries, Quimby, a 2004 graduate of Leavitt Area High School, stayed positive and returned to the University of New Hampshire to pursue her goal of being a biology professor.

The dedication paid off. In May 2009, Quimby graduated from the college with a degree in molecular, cellular and developmental biology. She earned her master’s degree in college teaching and learning from Kaplan University in Portland in 2011.

Scott Quimby said with enough support, his daughter feels she can take anything on. Since her accident, she has remained active, enjoying adaptive waterskiing, traveling, deep sea fishing and painting.

“With Monica, the sky’s the limit,” he said. “She is a hardworking, dedicated and intelligent woman.”

He said after the skiing accident, Quimby started to see life from a new perspective and soon understood the power of education and staying positive.

“She can find the good in bad situations,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for her.”

Hansell said this outlook helps Quimby be a great role model for the disabled.

“Her story has inspired both the people that know her and the people she has met on the road,” Hansell said. “After her traumatic accident she was very quick to really embrace her disability and say ‘I am going to be the person I want to be.'”

Providing better physical and academic access to education to those with handicaps is of particular interest to Quimby.

“I want to shed a new light on it,” she said. “It is definitely a big concern of mine and something that I want to work toward.”

That, she said, is her platform in the Ms. Wheelchair competition.

“The biggest message I want to get out is I want people with handicaps or in a wheelchair to feel that they can get an education so they can pursue something they are interested in,” she said. “I want to show people that I was able to get these degrees and am teaching biology and that they can do it too.”

“She is a teacher, but forever she will be a student,” Hansell said. “She thrives on education so reaching out to all sorts of different education sites to really make sure (the handicapped) population is spoken for is an admirable goal. She has the passion to do whatever she wants to do and the power to make it happen.”

That thirst for education is evident in how Quimby lives her life, said Wilfred Beriau.

Beriau, longtime chef instructor in Southern Maine Community College’s Culinary Arts Program, which Quimby shadows from time to time, said he is continually impressed by the positive energy Quimby brings to life and the inspiration she serves for others.

Beriau said Quimby stops by the culinary classes not because she is enrolled in the course, but because she is interested in cooking.

“We’ve had many handicapped people come through these doors,” said Beriau, who has been with the program for more than 25 years. “I don’t think I have ever seen a handicapped person so positive and optimistic. No matter what she does, she is interested, friendly and so full of optimism.”

Monica Quimby, 23, of Scarborough was named the 2011 Ms. Wheelchair Maine on March 12. In August she will set out to the national competition. (Courtesy photo)