Best of CASE District VII Award
 

Institution: California State University, Chico

Title of entry: Adaptive Surfing Shapes Business Grad’s Healing Journey

About this entry: At age 22, the day before graduating from Chico State, Claudio Morales was in an accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. A lifelong surfer who grew up in Chile, he was determined to ride waves again.

Today, Morales has rebuilt his life through surfing and working with the High Fives Foundation, a nonprofit helping athletes and veterans get back into extreme sports. He is part of a growing population of adaptive surfers gaining recognition as equipment and culture become more inclusive. Morales also competes on the Association of Adaptive Surfing Professionals tour, a global series with events in Hawaii, Australia, mainland USA, and Costa Rica—and is currently rated second in the world for his division, prone-assist.

To showcase the joy, community, and skill Morales draws from to pursue his passion, University photographer Jason Halley and writer Clayton Truscott drove to Santa Cruz to spend the day surfing with him and friends from High Fives. The resulting photos provide an intimate look at the steps Morales and his friends take to ride waves: from supporting Morales getting into a wetsuit and stretching, to paddling out as a team, and cheering for him riding waves unassisted.

Initially, the photos were taken for a profile story on Chico State Today, the University’s online storytelling platform, and Chico Statements magazine, distributed to 70,000 alumni in print. It was also promoted across social media channels and through our monthly alumni email to an audience of over 135,000 users.