Jamal Banks hurries across campus to his next class and stops for a moment to talk to friends, which seemingly is everyone.

He is just a normal college student going through his normal routine on a Tuesday afternoon.

But Banks, 25, isn’t moving in a normal way. He is confined to a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy, which also slightly affects his speech.

Despite that fact, Banks feels and acts as normal as any other student at Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s Natchez campus.

In fact, Banks said he feels blessed that his condition is the way it is.

“I’m one of the lucky ones,” Banks said. “There are certain types of cerebral palsy where people can’t talk or move. It’s a blessing that I still have a life.”

And what a life it has been.

Banks, who completed the special education program at Natchez High School in 2002 and is now a sophomore business and marketing major at Co-Lin Natchez, has worked hard to perform well in school and is one of the most popular people on the campus.

In fact, he was selected as Mr. Co-Lin recently by fellow students.

“It was pretty much wonderful being selected Mr. Co-Lin,” Banks said. “The other students look up to me. It makes me feel good.”

Banks’ self-efficiency comes from his meeting another handicapped person at a retreat in Jackson.

“I met this guy who was in worse condition than I was,” Banks said. “I started talking with him and he told me he was in school for criminal justice and he was working with life skills for independent living. It was amazing talking to him. Every time he said a word he had to take a deep breath.”

Banks knew after meeting the man he wanted to do something positive with his life.

“When I saw him, I knew there was no limitations to what I could do,” Banks said. “If a person who was in way worse condition than me was making a difference and helping others with disabilities, that’s what I wanted to do.”

Banks’ positive attitude also stems from that meeting.

“I always keep in my mind that there are people in worse condition than I am,” Banks said. “Sometimes I still get down, but it doesn’t take much for me to come back up.”

While Banks can do many things on his own, he also relies on a large network of friends and family to help him lead a normal life.

Banks lives in Natchez with his grandmother Carolyn Banks and his brother Jarrett helps him get dressed in the morning. Since Banks doesn’t drive, he has friends who will drive him around town and help him into buildings that might not have wheelchair ramps.

“I’ll just call somebody up, and it’s no problem,” Banks said. “It’s just a snap away.”

A strong support base is crucial for any disabled person, said Co-Lin Natchez Vice President Teresa Busby.

Busby said the college has many accommodations for the students who are disabled.

“The accommodations don’t water anything down, they just even the playing field,” Busby said. “We have tools to accommodate the students and provide them with the things they need to be successful.”

Some of the things that Banks requires are voice-activated computer software — which hears what his voice is saying and types the words on the computer — and scribes that take notes for him in class, Busby said.

Busby said that about a dozen of the school’s 860 students are disabled, most of them with either low vision or low hearing.

Busby said that students who are vision impaired can take verbal tests instead of written tests and can also have zoom test software, which is a device that magnifies the words on the screen.

For those who are hearing impaired, Busby said there are transmitters that can be worn around the neck that hooks to the person’s hearing aid.

The teacher talks into a microphone and it is transmitted right into the person’s ear.

Devices like these are important for those who are disabled to be able to function as normally as possible, Busby said.

“We provide them with the tools they need to be just like the other students, or close to it,” Busby said. “It’s exciting to find the fit to meet their needs and see them blossom.”

And Banks has certainly bloomed like a rose in his time at Co-Lin Natchez.

“Jamal has come such a long way,” Busby said. “I think he hit his stride here. That’s what you want from every person. When he leaves us, he’ll be ready for the next step in his life.”

And that step might include, one day, starting his own business.

“I’ve got a lot in mind after graduation,” Banks said. “It’s all about giving back. If I can start a business and one day give back, I’ll be fine.”

But for now, Banks will keep cruising across campus in his wheelchair, cracking jokes and making friends with everyone he meets.

“It’s all about how I carry myself,” Banks said. “They see I don’t let (my disability) get me down.”