Vista Testimonial Susan Glass
Transcript
SUSAN GLASS: My name is Susan Glass, and I've been totally blind all my life. When my family settled in San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1960s, I don't think we knew what a formative and steadfast role Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired would play in our lives.
Now, I say "our lives" because my whole family benefited from the Vista team's knowledge and support. That support, for me, began at the Vista San Jose campus, which housed both the Braille Transcription Project and a Braille library. That library-- my heaven and my haven. I'd sit on the carpeted floor for hours, buried under piles of Braille volumes, while I tried to decide what books to take home and read during the coming week. My mom often drove me to the library after school where I'd look for music or science or history books to help me complete my homework.
My first school job, in fact, was at that library where I learned to catalog and shelve books. I think it's fair to say that this Braille library played a significant role in pointing me toward my career as a full-time English professor, a career that lasted for 30 years.
Vista helped me learn practical life skills, too-- wayfinding being the most important. When you can't see, you sometimes need help from specially-trained teachers who assist you with tasks like crossing busy streets, planning safe travel routes, climbing stairs, and so forth. Whenever I needed wayfinding help at the various college campuses where I taught or in a new neighborhood to which I'd moved, Vista teachers were right there. When a new guide dog and I needed to practice a particular skill, well, the Vista team was there, too. They continue to enhance and support my independence.
Currently, I am honored to serve on Vista Center's Board of Directors. It's rewarding to give back to an organization that has so significantly shaped my life and continues to strengthen and support the lives of many other blind and low vision children and adults. I thank you, in advance, for considering a donation to Vista Center. Please know that a donation of any amount will help Vista continue its life changing work in the blind and low vision community.
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