Triple amputee Iraq veteran lost limbs but stuns professors

Iraq war veteran loses limbs, not courage to pursue dreams
by Craig Harris on Mar. 04, 2012

TUCSON – It’s a weekday afternoon when Brian Kolfage pulls into the parking lot at the University of Arizona’s College of Architecture.

Immediately, it’s clear Kolfage isn’t your typical student.

At 30, he’s older than most undergraduates studying architecture. His gait isn’t like that of his fellow students. And he’s missing his right hand.

Kolfage, a triple-amputee who lost his limbs serving in Iraq with the U.S. Air Force, steps out of the driver’s seat of his specially made black Range Rover on prosthetic legs. He heads toward the back of the SUV, where he removes his manual wheelchair, climbs in and heads off to class.

Kolfage is in the third year of a rigorous five-year program, and classmates and faculty say they are amazed by his work.

“Brian was right-handed, and he not only had to learn to write with his left hand, but he had to learn to draw with his left hand. And he’s impeccable,” said Siri Trumble, an adjunct lecturer who was Kolfage’s first architecture teacher at UA. “He quickly emerged as one of the top draftsmen.”
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