By Josh Bean
Homewood High School senior Adele Brandrup understands the influence she can have on others.
A record-setting swimmer, she was born with CHARGE syndrome, a complex and rare condition that often causes vision and hearing difficulties, heart defects, struggles with breathing and balance, and other wide-ranging issues.
For Adele, she was born deaf and essentially has no peripheral vision. She was also born with no semicircular canals, the fluid-filled tubes in the inner ear responsible for balance. She can hear, thanks to a cochlear implant she received as a baby, but communicates through American Sign Language because she can hear sounds but remains unable to distinguish conversation.
She’s endured approximately 15 surgeries, as well as countless physical and occupational therapy sessions.
Through all of that, nothing has stopped her.
“I want to show people can do anything they want. They can break those barriers,” she said, with the help of Autumn Anderson, an American Sign Language interpreter who assists her at Homewood High School. “In the past, I’ve experienced some really tough times, but I know there’s light at the end, so I kept going for it.”
Adele has accomplished many things thought impossible for someone with CHARGE syndrome. For instance, she learned to ride a bicycle, a rarity for CHARGE patients. She’s even competed in triathlons
That’s why her Mom, Julie Brandrup, calls her “a superstar with CHARGE syndrome.”
Adele is also one of 52 regional winners in the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Program’s Student Achievement category, which honors senior student-athletes who have overcome personal adversity to excel.
All regional winners receive a $3,000 scholarship and could win more when statewide winners are announced at the annual Bryant-Jordan banquet Monday in Birmingham. More than $10 million in scholarship aid has been presented by the Bryant-Jordan program since its inception in 1986.
“Adele has overcome obstacles most would never dream of,” wrote Emily Mallard, Adele’s swimming coach at Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham, in a letter in support of her Bryant-Jordan candidacy. “To her, these are not obstacles, but just part of everyday life. She problem-solves and determines how to make a situation work for her.”
Adele’s swimming career showcases her dogged determination.
She began swimming at age four, eventually joined the team at Lakeshore Foundation and began swimming competitively in 2019. She has competed in the Move United Junior Nationals.
The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown prompted her to briefly join a community swim team at the Jewish Community Center in Birmingham as the only para-athlete. She also joined the Homewood High School swimming team as an adaptive athlete while continuing to train at Lakeshore. She set AHSAA adaptive records in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, 100-meter breaststroke and 100-meter backstroke events.
“I’m happy to show people what we can do,” she said. “I’m happy if someone breaks my records, because that means I’m encouraging people to join the sport.”
Adele, who refers to herself as a “deaf-blind athlete,” is also set to swim at the University of Montevallo. She’ll be the first para-swimmer in Montevallo swimming history. She recounted how she met Montevallo swimming coach Aaron Mahaney, who happened to be manning the athletics table while she visited the school for preview day.
“I met him in person right there, right then,” she said. “He seemed like a nice person – a little bit strict, but nice.”
Mahaney was immediately impressed with Adele.
“I was like, ‘Absolutely, if there’s a way we can help you live your dream of being a college athlete, we’re definitely here to help support that,’” Mahaney said. “I was definitely excited to meet her.”
Adele ultimately chose Montevallo, which offers a deaf studies major, and signed with the Falcons’ swimming program. She said she plans to major in exercise science, with a minor in deaf studies.
“When I visited the campus for the first time, I knew. I knew it would be my next home,” Adele said. “I felt like I would fit there. It has those deaf resources. It’s a small campus; small class sizes, as well. I really enjoy the teachers I have met. They’ve all been nice. I think it’s the only school in the south with deaf education.”
Mahaney said he’s excited about adding Adele to his roster.
“I think her determination and eagerness to try new things and put herself outside her comfort zone to do something she’s never done before really impressed me,” he said.
Before meeting Mahaney and visiting Montevallo, Adele said she expected to continue swimming at Lakeshore, but hadn’t considered the idea of collegiate swimming. That’s just another barrier she’s broken.
“I don’t see myself as a disabled athlete,” she said. “I live my life.”
