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SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — When Jacob Nault was born, he experienced a one-time brain bleed that was no larger than a pencil eraser, but it was enough to leave him with a mild case of cerebral palsy. Doctors and child psychologists told his parents that most of his milestones in life would be delayed.
"One psychologist basically told my parents that I would never amount to anything," Nault said.
He runs his hand along the ivory keys of a grand piano sitting in his college's choir room and grins to himself.
"I beat all those odds," he told Sheboygan Press Media (http://shebpr.es/1ngv1jh ).
Today, Nault, of Neenah, is a thriving student in his junior year at Lakeland College near Howards Grove. He has quickly made a name for himself with his singing and piano playing; students have endearingly dubbed him the "six-fingered pianist" because Nault is only able to use his right hand and one finger on his left hand when performing.
"I have to adapt in some way every piece of music that I want to play," Nault said.
Katie Christensen, a senior at Lakeland College and fellow pianist, was impressed by Nault's talent the first time she met him.
"When I first heard Nault play piano, I was very surprised. He didn't sound like someone who was playing with six fingers; he sounded like he was playing competently with 10," Christensen said. "He plays twice as many notes with his right hand in order to play with only one finger on his left. I was amazed by him."
The 21-year-old performer first fell in love with music while observing his church organist as a child. At age 7, he signed up for piano lessons, but his family struggled with teachers who had no desire to help Nault find ways to master the instrument with his challenges.
Ultimately, Nault ended up teaching himself to play piano in his early years. In high school, he finally found accommodating instructors at Lawrence Academy of Music in Appleton.
But, the challenges resurfaced while touring colleges and universities that were inconsiderate of his cerebral palsy. Nault knew the music programs at those institutions would not provide him with the resources to reach his full potential.
That all changed when he connected with faculty and staff at Lakeland College.
"On preview day, I met the music program faculty, and everything that I saw as a disadvantage or potential roadblock, they saw as an opportunity," Nault said. "They were like, 'conducting with one hand? Yeah, we can teach you to conduct with one hand! Applied piano with six fingers? Yeah, we can do that!'"
The professors told Nault his circumstances were actually an opportunity for him to learn how to be a better music teacher in his future career, because he would become skilled at adapting to people's challenges.
Nault is majoring in choral and general music education with hopes of ultimately becoming a certified music teacher.
"I really think that teaching is something that I'm called to do," Nault said. "It's an incredible privilege to help other people see your love of music and help students unlock that potential inside of themselves."
Besides teaching, Nault also hopes to continue playing gigs at local venues and weddings. He has enjoyed the mentorship and support of independent artists such as Bryan Sirchio, Christopher Grundy, Andra Moran and others.
He encourages young musicians to reach out to those artists who inspire them because "you never know who's going to be the type of person who is happy to have coffee with you."
Despite all of his success, Nault admits he still has rough days related to his cerebral palsy.
"Sometimes I wake up and say, 'Does it really have to be this hard to open a container of medicine or cut this piece of steak?'" Nault said. "It puts me in a very vulnerable position to ask for help, even from strangers who are sometimes unkind."
"But, I'm usually positive," he said. "If you're just going to be negative all the time, you're not going to be able to live a happy life and people won't want to be around you. Negativity is poisonous."
Nault's parents, Bob and Melanie Nault, of Neenah, take pride in seeing their son strive to reach his full potential despite obstacles.
"He has a strong religious faith, a strong faith in himself and an incredible ability to surround himself with good people," Melanie said. "He never feels that the world owes him anything; he is just interested in how he can make the world better."
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Information from: Sheboygan Press Media, http://www.sheboygan-press.com
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