PEOPLE

Students: Stories of Triumph

Meet Marquita Vinson


I lost my eyesight at the age of four. In the seventh grade, I began to receive mobility training on my middle-school campus. They trained me to independently travel to each class. Being the stubborn Leo that I am, I simply refused to use my white cane. It was so embarrassing to be seen with one of those things. The white cane made me feel like I was abnormal. It made me feel like I was blind.

Refusing to use my cane continued through high school. I would have different students walk me to class, the cafeteria and even the bathroom. I was completely reliant on other people. Working over the summer was the same routine. I was driven to work, walked to my desk and to nearby fast food restaurants.

One day at school I walked into my Visually Handicapped class and my teacher sat me down and began telling me about The Hatlen Center for the Blind. She told me that it was an apartment living program for visually impaired individuals who desired to live on their own. She said the program assisted these individuals in learning how to maintain a budget, cook, clean, attend school after high school, find employment and travel independently.

This was the best news I had heard all year. That following fall season, I was a student at The Hatlen Center. After being introduced to all the instructors, I instantly reached my comfort level. I felt like I could tell my teachers anything that first day.

I picked up on the cleaning, budgeting, and cooking techniques pretty quickly, but I required an extreme amount of assistance in computer and mobility training. I easily breezed through the computer training because of the wonderful teaching techniques. The mobility was the most challenging for me. The part of the training that I feared the most was street crossings. I once stood at a street corner with my instructor and I was nearly in tears. I was so afraid to cross that street. She helped me overcome that.

The Hatlen Center helped make me the independent woman I am today. I now live on my own in an apartment in Sacramento. I’m now attending Sacramento City College where I am majoring in Psychology and Human Behavior. I’m independently traveling from home to school on the bus and to my classes with my big black Labrador guide dog.

I want to strongly encourage anyone with a visual impairment who desires to develop a life of independence to become a student at The Hatlen Center. It will change your life, and you will find that your self-confidence will increase extremely.