As part of the 40th Anniversary of Trent University Durham, alumni have contributed stories for a permanent exhibition on Campus. These are highlights from some of these stories. For more information about our 40th celebration visit our webpage.
I am a person with a severe sensory disability, I am totally blind.
... [At Trent] I was able to attain all my textbooks in a digital format for an optimum learning experience.
With the guidance of my academic advisor, I began to advocate for my accessibility needs and worked with both the library and the informational technology department to help them understand what I needed to successfully navigate successfully navigate all facets of the Trent ”system.’’ As a result, I began to thrive in my academic life and my grades subsequently increased.
I then connected with the student success centre where I found assistance that improved my overall writing skills.
In 2010, when Trent moved to their current location on Thornton Road, my academic advisor, many staff members, and several professors encouraged me to continue my post-secondary education. Colleagues with whom I worked with on accessibility committees in the community were also proponents of my decision to apply to graduate school. I was honoured to have so many people willing to be a referee on my grad school applications. In 2013, armed with all the experience and expertise I had been provided through both my Trent experience and my extensive community advocacy, I was accepted at two graduate schools. I accepted a full-time MSW program at Windsor University and having only previously done part-time studies I was wary of what was to come! I can say with all confidence, that the training and skills I received at Trent University provided me with the tools to successfully graduate from this program with an A-grade point average.
I am now completing the last 10 weeks of my advanced practicum internship. I have gained the educational and technological skills I set out to gain in reinventing my identity back in 2003 and Trent was a key part of that journey. I am no longer worried about passing as a sighted person, I am a proud, happy, confident, and skilled blind person, prepared to participate and contribute in the twenty-first century.
Posted on Friday, April 3, 2015.