Do you have a job? 

Do you go on dates?

What sports do you do?

Mary Johnson happily answered those questions and others on a recent visit to Ethiopia, where she spent a week mentoring amputee children. The trip was sponsored by the Limb Kind Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit that aims to improve the lives of children with limb loss by strengthening the worldwide amputee community and providing prosthetic care to all.

The organization’s mission resonates for Mary, who is an amputee. “Helping others have access to prosthetic limbs has been a passion of mine pretty much since I lost my leg and realized that prosthetic legs are considered more of a luxury than a medical necessity or human right,” she says. “Limb Kind is fantastic. Not only does it provide prosthetic limbs to children in need on an international level, it also recognizes the importance of emotional support during physical disability. As a mentor, I was there to show the children, especially the young female amputees, that just about anything is possible if you believe in yourself, your beauty, and your strength.”

The 7000-mile journey also offered Mary perspective that informs her outlook as a young professional. “In many foreign countries, it’s shameful to be disabled,” she notes. “Disabled children are often hidden by families, shunned by communities, or worse. I’m so thankful for the blessings in my life: I feel accepted as a physically disabled woman. When I go to work as an attorney, many days it will be in a skirt suit or a dress with my prosthetic leg showing, and I’m proud to show my mettle.”

Mary brings that same outlook to her studies at St. John’s, where she serves as Articles & Notes Editor for the New York International Law Review, competes as a member of the Frank S. Polestino Trial Advocacy Institute, and works as a Legal Writing teaching assistant. She is also president of the Federal Bar Association Eastern District of New York Chapter’s student division at St. John’s Law. This fall, she will start her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx. Looking forward, Mary draws parallels between volunteering to help fellow amputees and being a lawyer.

“It’s an injustice for disabled children to stand or sit on the sidelines and watch peers go to school and prepare for a career,” she says. “That injustice is one that the Limb Kind Foundation is seeking to combat by providing prosthetic limbs to children in need here and abroad. I’m happy to be working toward justice, wherever my path takes me. I’m paying it forward with this second chance at life God gave me, a big smile on my face and hop in my step.”

You can learn more about the Limb Kind Foundation, its work around the world, and its fundraising initiatives at limbkind.org