Tara, a 2008 graduate of NJ Foundation for the Blind, exemplifies the miracles that can result when highly motivated individuals have access to programs and resources that help them adjust to vision loss.  For years, Tara has dealt with her disabilities and overcome countless obstacles.  She is now an immensely successful college student and eternal optimist.   And at 31, she’s only just begun.  Read more about Tara in this article generously provided by Bookshare, a non-profit online digital library.

Tara is 31 years old.  In 2008, she set out to accomplish one of her life goals- to earn a college degree.  Tara has been a diabetic since the age of five.  As a young adult, she attended Boston College, but caught a virus that shut her kidneys down and forced her to return home.  Then, renal failure wrought havoc with her diabetes and caused Tara to become a “Brittle Diabetic.” With uncontrollable sugars in her body, her circulation and eyesight began to fail and eventually she had her leg amputated below the knee and lost her vision in both eyes.  These types of health challenges would discourage lots of people, but not Tara. She fought back to overcome adversity with incredible determination.

In 2009, she decided to continue her pursuit of a college degree, taking classes at Caldwell College.  Shortly thereafter, she moved onto the campus. With the support of fellow students and her mobility instructor, she navigated the campus easily and improved her outdoor mobility skills. “This process made me much more independent,” she said.  “It has been a great learning experience for me, my professors, the college staff and my peers.  Being the only totally blind student to live on campus, I hope I have paved the way for others to attend college and/or classes.”

Tara is a graduate of the NJ Foundation for the Blind. There, she learned how to use Bookshare, download digital books and use her computer with Jaws.  She learned how to read Grade 1 and 2 Braille and how to move freely about with a cane.  She also took classes in horticulture, sewing, pottery and music and now plays the piano. “Playing the piano gives me great joy and happiness.  The Foundation prepared me for living on a college campus, being successful in school, loving music and enjoying the arts.”

Many of the Bookshare staff met Tara at our event at the National Braille Foundation conference this year.  We could tell that this exceptionally determined, organized and focused young woman really believes in herself.  She sees a positive aspect to every situation, despite many adverse challenges. “We need to trust more in others and take leaps of faith.  I want to be a pioneer in this life to demonstrate to the world that blind people are no different than others.”   Today, as Tara completes one goal, a college degree with a 3.95 GPA, and moves into the working world,  she asks not be labeled as blind, but for others to simply acknowledge her talents, academic accomplishments and strong will to get the task done well.

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This article is excerpted from a story supplied by Bookshare (www.bookshare.org), the world’s largest online accessible library of copyrighted content for people with print disabilities. Through its technology initiatives and partnerships, Bookshare seeks to raise the floor on accessibility issues so that individuals with print disabilities have the same ease of access to print materials as people without disabilities. Bookshare is an initiative of Benetech, a Palo Alto, CA-based nonprofit which creates sustainable technology to solve pressing social needs.