MU| N o t e s
Profile
Amy Snyder ’93 Jagger
Faith guides the journey
W
hen Amy J. Snyder ’93 Jagger named her blog
Squirrel Chatter, it was a nod to her college
days. Amy lived in an apartment on Ninth Street
her senior year and recalls watching squirrels travel
by power lines outside her window. They acted more on faith
and instinct than a clear vision of where they were going. And
while the squirrels’ view was amazing, their life on the high wire
was fraught with peril.
The high wire, Amy discovered later, is a metaphor for life.
It is a life changed forever on a West Virginia interstate in 2015
when another vehicle drove into the Jaggers’ path, injuring
Amy, her husband Chad, daughter Alissa, and son Cameron.
The wreck left Alissa, once a “fantastic distance runner,” a
paraplegic. “It literally changed every minute of every day and
every night,” Amy says.
Four doctors told the Jaggers that Alissa would never walk
again, but Amy “would not accept what we were being told.”
She researched rehabilitation centers and discovered the best
one was in Chicago. For more than two years, they’ve traveled
back and forth to the center, where Alissa has learned to walk
in leg braces and use a walker. More recently, therapeutic
swimming has strengthened Alissa and provided an outlet for
her natural athleticism.
“She’s strong. She’s tough. And she’s a fighter,” says Amy of her
daughter. “I don’t think the story is over by any means.”
An engineer, Chad built a vehicle lift for Alissa as well as an
overhead harness track system which allows her to walk on a
treadmill. She graduated
in May from Eagle Tech
Academy, a branch of Columbia
City High School, and this fall, entered Grace College in Winona Lake
where she lives on campus. “Paralysis has taken so much away from
her,” Amy says of Alissa, “there’s no way it’s going to take (college
too).”
The daughter of MU graduates and educators Gene Snyder ’63
and Ellen Yager ’61 Snyder, Amy remembers her college years
fondly. With faculty members like Richard “Robby” Robison, Jo Ann
Clingenpeel ’59 Schall and the late Karen Beery ’66 Doudt, “you just
knew you were going to be prepared very well.” Amy says Manchester’s
reputation helped her get the teaching job in Churubusco that she
enjoyed for seven years before her children were born.
Later, Amy worked as a high school music director and children’s
ministry director and, for 10 years, has written a column for the
Columbia City Post and Mail. Her reflections on everyday life resonate
with her readers who are also part of the community that has supported
the Jaggers with prayers and fundraisers. Amy’s first book is now in the
editing stage and, with Squirrel Chatter, she’s hoping to reach a wider
audience to share her family’s experiences, her Christian faith, and the
inspiring story of Alissa.
“We have really tried to point to the Lord,” says Amy. “He’s still good,
He’s still kind and He’s still loving.” For Amy, He’s also the safety net
under the high wire journey of life.
To read or follow Amy’s blog, please visit www.squirrelchat.com.
By Melinda Lantz ’81
Manchester | 37