Aaron Baker, a quadriplegic who defied the odds and is now walking, will be the keynote speaker at Disability Awareness Day Thursday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Tivoli Turnhalle. Baker will speak at noon.

In 1999, Baker was a nationally ranked motocross racer. He fractured three vertebrae during a practice run, paralyzing him from the neck down. Doctors pegged his chances at ever walking again as one in a million. After countless hours of therapy and rehab, Baker is now walking. His personal trainer, Taylor-Kevin Isaacs, will be a special guest. Isaacs is a clinical exercise physiologist and a clinical instructor of kinesiology at California State University at Northridge, where he teaches therapeutic exercise for special populations. In addition, he trains private clients, both in their homes and at Cal State's Center of Achievement for the Physically Disabled.

Barry Ashworth, a Highlands Ranch man with multiple sclerosis who spent seven days stranded in his bathtub, will speak about the important role that service dogs play and how his three-year-old dog Libby, helped keep him alive during his ordeal.

This is the event’s 10th year, and organizer Julie Rummel Mancuso of Campus Recreation expects about 500 people to attend. In addition to the speakers, free food, giveaways and information will be provided.

“It’s been a really positive thing each year,” Rummel Mancuso said, noting that the Auraria campus has about 1,000 students with physical disabilities and Auraria is considered one of the most accessible campuses in the country. “We have a reputation for having a very open, inclusive, welcoming environment.”