Michael Best doesn’t take notes like most students do. He records lectures on his phone, listens to them again later and types out his notes, slowly and steadily, using just his right index finger. What he lacks in speed, however, he makes up for in clarity of thought and fierce commitment to his craft.

A gifted scholar with a dry sense of humour, Best has faced extraordinary challenges in his academic journey. He lives with spastic quadriplegia, a form of cerebral palsy that affects all four limbs and makes physical tasks immensely difficult. “I do all my assignments and exams on my laptop since I struggle to hold a pen,” he explains. “I can type, but at a rather slow pace because I use only my right index finger.” 

Unable to take notes in real time during classes, Best had to rely on alternative methods. Following a few unsuccessful attempts to take notes with his laptop during classes, he got permission to record the sessions on his phone instead and made his notes at home at his own pace. “The department also uploads their study materials onto ClickUP and this is incredibly useful as my spasticity makes it rather difficult to hold documents,” he explains. “The fact that all the materials are uploaded to ClickUP also helped me to catch up on work when I went in for surgeries.”

It wasn’t just his studies that needed Best to adjust. “Life was far from easy last year. I wish I could say that I managed to balance my life in academia and my personal life, but I didn’t manage it very well,” he admits. In 2023 and 2024, Best underwent two major hip surgeries and a rhizotomy, a surgical procedure to sever pain-transmitting nerve fibres. The physical toll was immense. 

“Every day, you could find me dripping with sweat and trembling from severe pain in my right hip and lower back,” he recalls. “Pain is soul-destroying and there were many times last year when I felt useless because I could do very little work.” 

Still, he pushed forward. “It was incredibly frustrating to request extensions continuously, but it felt so good when I finally completed the degree in January of this year.” 

What helped, he says, was the consistent support of the English Department and access to resources through the university’s learning management system. “The department never gave up on me and helped me through the hard times. It is truly a blessing to be part of a department that will always support you through good and bad times and encourage you to be the best you can be.” 

Best’s love for literature is rooted in his childhood. “From a very young age, my parents played a fundamental role in nurturing my love for literature. Our home was filled with books and cassette tape audiobooks. I loved reading Roald Dahl’s books, and some of my favourite childhood memories are with my dad reading me The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter novels before bed.” 

That early love for stories has grown into a rich academic inquiry. “At its core, literature is a reflection of the human condition,” he explains. “Whether it’s a novel, poem, or play, each piece of literature can reveal philosophical, emotional, and cultural truths about the human experience.” 

It is this pursuit of layered, often conflicting truths that defines his approach to learning and to life. “In English literature, there are very few matters that are strictly black and white. Instead, it encourages you to explore multiple perspectives, question your most deeply held assumptions, and recognise the grey areas that define literature, theory, and human experience.” 

His Honours degree, he says, has sharpened these instincts. “It taught me to approach challenges from multiple angles and remain open to differing viewpoints in professional settings. Whether in academia, the public sector, the creative industries, or corporate environments, I can analyse information thoughtfully, solve problems with nuance, and communicate ideas clearly and to the best of my ability.” 

Looking ahead, Best hopes to pursue postgraduate studies and build a career in academia. “I want to create a space where students are encouraged not only to read critically but to think courageously – where questioning is not just allowed but celebrated.” For him, literature is not fixed; it’s “a living, breathing conversation about what it means to be human.” 

“Literature teaches us that imagination is not a luxury – it’s essential. It allows us to envision different lives, different futures, and different ways of being. In doing so, it keeps us open to change and creativity in our own lives.” 

Best may have completed his degree under circumstances most would find unimaginable, but to him, it’s not just about enduring pain; it’s about staying committed to truth, language, and the possibilities that literature invites. 

“Every time I read something new these days, I am reminded that the search for truth is never complete. It is an ongoing, dynamic process – one that defines not only my work as a student of literature but also who I am becoming as a thinker and as a person.”

Best says this ongoing, dynamic process guides him not only as a student of literature but how he understands and views the world. This growth, he says, wouldn’t have been possible without his parents. 

“My mom and dad have supported me through good and bad times. There were times during high school when my parents tore their hair out, but they gathered it up, glued it back in (unfortunately, my old man had little success) and tried again. And thank goodness they did because life in academia is a magical time for me. I’ll always be grateful for the two greatest teammates in my life, and I hope my love and admiration for them shines through in everything I do.”