PEOPLE

Students: Stories of Triumph

Meet Carla Alvarez


March 2003
When I was sixteen, I started getting depressed because I thought that a visually impaired person couldn’t succeed in life. I thought I was going to have to stay at home and be useless. My self-esteem dropped and my grades at school did, too. But my dream was to become independent. I wanted to prove to my family that a person with a disability could succeed. When that thought came to my mind, my eyes got full of tears.

One day I decided to visit my friend Cynthia. I started telling her about my problems. It always made her mad when I told her that I was useless. She told me about The Hatlen Center for the Blind. I couldn’t believe it she told me that that program helped people become independent. After talking to her, I went home and imagined my future. I finally saw a light at the end of the path. Going to The Hatlen Center became my new goal. My grades at school improved a whole lot, and I had a positive attitude.

In the summer I had an opportunity to visit The Hatlen Center, and I could feel this new opportunity coming my way. I sent in my application and was accepted a few weeks later. Finally it was time to depart. My dad, mom, and sister dropped me off at my new apartment at The Hatlen Center. Now I have been in the program a few months, and I have been learning lots of new skills. I am even attending college! The Hatlen Center has changed my life because finally I am becoming fully independent.”

May 2006
Update: Close to completing her Associate of Arts degree, Carla has certainly been busy ever since she graduated from The Hatlen Center. After her obtaining her degree from Contra Costa College, Carla is off to Guide Dogs for the Blind to receive training with her new guide dog. The timing couldn’t be better, for shortly after her term at Guide Dogs for the Blind, she is going straight to one of the University of California campuses – as of yet, she hasn’t decided which one to attend, so be sure to visit our website again for more updates on the accomplishments of this highly motivated Hatlen Center graduate!

October 2006
Update: Above is a picture of Carla with her new Guide Dog, Dorsey. They are such a good team! Carla finally made her decision and will be attending U.C. Davis this fall. She has found a place to live, moved to Davis, and is ready to start the next chapter of her story.