Jeannie Pike isn't the type of person to let a disability define her life.

She was a practical nurse at St. Clair Hospital in 1973 when an epileptic grand mal seizure took away her powers of speech, her equilibrium and some use of her hands. As she lay practically immobilized in a Peters nursing home in the months and years that followed, Pike decided to take charge of her life again.

She began volunteering at Peters Middle School and McMurray Elementary School. Pike, 57, recently was recognized with the Character Counts Recognition Award for her work during the past 16 years in the local schools and community.

Pike was nominated for the award by the 11-member team of sixth-grade teachers at McMurray Elementary. Using a wheelchair, Pike volunteers twice a week, doing office errands, making copies, helping with school bulletin boards and various other duties. She also volunteers at the Peters Middle School, often wheeling herself across East McMurray Road to reach the other school.

Her nomination was forwarded to a local committee of community and business members, along with township and school officials. The award is designed to recognize those "who promote the values of respect, responsibility and honesty," township Manager Mike Silvestri said.

Pike was presented with the award during an assembly last month at the school. Sixth-graders Victoria Cassaday and Rebecca Lee received the award for their efforts in organizing a collection drive for victims of the September floods.

A Peters native, Pike began volunteering when she lived in a personal care home next to the middle school.

"I would sit and watch the children play all day long," she said.

As a nurse, Pike's life was full of mental challenges and rewards. But in the personal care home, she was the youngest resident and had little in common with her housemates. Doctors told Pike she would never walk or speak normally again.

"I lost all of my equilibrium," she said. "I couldn't balance at all."

She fought the diagnosis and began using a walker with sand bags tied to the sides for balance. She worked on improving her speech and regaining full use of her hands.

"I've come back quite a bit from what I was," she said. "Being around the children, it makes me want to try more."

When the personal care home closed, she moved into a retirement community in Bethel Park, where she rents an apartment. She climbs the stairs for exercise and can stand and walk short distances. Because of medical advances and medication, Pike has been seizure-free for seven years.

A retired school librarian got Pike interested in volunteering at the schools, and since then, close friend and sixth-grade teacher Mike Kristobak has stepped in, giving Pike rides to and from the elementary school.

Pike also serves as a guest speaker in the schools, especially once a year when the sixth-grade classes read the book "Colt.," in which the primary character uses a wheelchair. Pike, or Ms. Jeannie, as she's called by pupils, lets pupils sit in the chair while trying to accomplish simple tasks such as carrying books on their laps.

"It gives the students a chance to connect," Kristobak said. "It's an opportunity for them to make contact."

Most importantly, Pike said, she tries to teach pupils how to treat those with disabilities.

"I always tell them to at least say hi," she said. "I tell them not to look down on them, because they are just as good as you are."