Liberty graduate makes positive impact on campus through disability initiatives

>>This month, Liberty University celebrates over 32,000 graduates who are ready to impact the world as Champions for Christ. Follow Liberty News for full Commencement coverage and more stories of trial and triumph from the Class of 2026.

Jaiden Lane’s life story has exemplified the rewards of endurance and advocacy as she encourages others to never let a disability stop them from achieving their dreams.

Lane was born with ectrodactyly, a disorder characterized by missing limbs, and this month, she joins Liberty University’s Class of 2026, earning a master’s degree in psychology to continue her calling as a Champion for Christ.

Lane has served as a student disability representative in Liberty’s Office of Disability Accommodation Support for six years. In this role, she has increased disability awareness across campus and advocated better accessibility for students with disabilities. Her efforts have permanently marked Liberty campus for the better, and she is venturing out into her career as a disability advocate with the same goal.

Lane was born with two fingers on her right hand and three on her left. From the knees down, she only had skin tissue instead of muscle mass and bones. At 14 months old, her family made the difficult but life-changing decision to amputate her legs. It wasn’t an easy road; at the age when most kids were starting soccer practice or dance lessons, she was going to physical therapy to learn how to walk in prosthetics.

“Having a disability kind of took some of my innocence away, if that makes sense,” Lane said. “Immediately, I had to grow up. While some kids can take risks and have fun and go out and play on the monkey bars, I had to be more careful. But I don’t feel like my disability ever stopped me from doing what I wanted to do.”

Lane had family members with disabilities, and from their example she learned at an early age that she was created in God’s image.

“My mom instilled in me that disabilities are a beautiful thing and that God created you uniquely, fearfully, and wonderfully,” she said. “He made you, and He knit you together on purpose, for a purpose. That has shaped my whole outlook.”

“If it hadn’t been for the people in my life who had disabilities and were Christians and Bible believers, I truly don’t think I ever would have had that mindset,” she added. “When I look in the mirror, I don’t always see beauty, but that’s not how beauty is defined in God’s eyes.”

Lane, who is from Grit, Va., first visited Liberty for College For A Weekend in 2020 and fell in love with the campus. She enrolled and earned her bachelor’s in communication with minors in disability ministry and psychology in 2024. She was offered a full scholarship to another university for graduate school, but when she toured that campus, she said she noticed the lack of accessibility for students with disabilities; the disability office was almost hidden away from main campus. She said it was a stark contrast to the initiatives and resources she had at Liberty, and she knew she wanted to stay in Lynchburg for her master’s in general psychology.

“I think the reason why Liberty has so much compassion with disabilities is because it goes back to our mission and really what we believe. Yes, we are Training Champions for Christ, but also if it’s Christian, it ought to be Christian,” she said. “And these aren’t just words. We believe that God created all people in His image, therefore we treat all people like they are image-bearers of Christ. Their identity and their value ultimately come from the Lord, and their disability is not a disadvantage.”

Lane said ODAS is committed to helping students with disabilities gain all the resources they need to thrive inside and outside the classroom. She said ODAS has always been attentive to her needs, making accommodations like extra time to get to classes and reserving a specific seat or table in lecture halls for her chair.

“It’s a holistic approach that a lot of universities are lacking,” she said.

Lane said an assignment in her Narrative Storytelling (SCOM 315) class led to her first real impact on campus. Her class was tasked with finding ways to make campus better. Lane decided to travel all around campus in her manual chair and mark every location where she encountered an accessibility issue or barrier. While Liberty is currently a highly accessible campus for students with disabilities and provides an effective system for responding to newly identified barriers, Lane saw needs that had not yet been addressed in her undergraduate years. She suggested adding railings to certain ramps, lowering ordering kiosks for wheelchair users and students with dwarfism, remodeling sidewalks, and adding more handicap door buttons.

She brought her list to her ODAS advisor, Jana Whitney, who immediately took action and contacted the appropriate departments to explore solutions.

“Students that engage in disability advocacy cultivate that sense of belonging and connection among the body of Christ, and Jaiden has been an integral part of that mission,” Whitney said. “Jaiden exemplifies a desire to let God be the Author of her story and a confidence that she was created perfectly for God’s purpose and His glory, and I think that’s what makes her a Champion for Christ.”

“Jana immediately gave me a voice. We work together as a collaboration, and that has been so beautiful for the past six years,” Lane said.

She continues to help solve barriers on campus and even assisted in the execution of ODAS’ sensory room, which opened in 2025, completing research behind its benefits. She found that students who used the room showed a decrease in stress by nearly 15 percent, even if the student was only in it for under a minute. Her master’s thesis, titled “Rolling a Mile in My Wheels,” was an exploratory study on disability stigma, researching the levels of empathy and inclusion among students on campus and putting students without disabilities in situations that impact those with disabilities.

Lane also regularly takes part in university promotional projects, like social media postings and marketing videos, to represent the disability community at Liberty. She also speaks at events, like ODAS’ Disability Advocacy Expo and Table Talks, where students share their experience with disability to raise awareness. She filmed an introduction for Joni Eareckson Tada when the well-known author was a guest speaker at Convocation in 2024.

After graduation, Lane plans to pursue a full-time career in disability advocacy using what she’s learned through her work at Liberty to “give all the glory to God and advocate for individuals with disabilities to the very best of my ability.”

“I hope that my legacy at Liberty can be seen in the lives of future students with disabilities, that the fruit of my struggles on campus will be enjoyed, whether through more accessible parking options, ramps, railings, more even sidewalks, etc.,” she said. “I am honored to be a Champion for Christ, and being a Champion of Christ has nothing to do with ability and everything to do with having full reliance on God. Being a champion means that I am now equipped to go out and fulfill the Great Commission.”