High school students who are visually impaired gain tools for future campus life

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In seventh grade, Nia Barley was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare eye disease that affects the retina, and over time her vision has slowly gotten worse. As she prepares for her senior year of high school in fall 2023, Barley has lost most of her peripheral vision.

“I still do a lot of things, like playing flag football outside of school. It is my favorite thing to do. I just don’t let anything hold me back,” Barley said.

She brought her positive attitude to Penn State, along with 19 other students from around Pennsylvania, for the 2023 Summer Academy for Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired.

The Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services Summer Academy is offered by the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation-Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services in partnership with Penn State Conferences and Institutes, Penn State College of Education, and with the support of Penn State College of Health and Human Development.

As part of the annual program, high school-age students with visual impairments live on campus for a week to develop their knowledge, experiences, and awareness related to their future academic and employment goals. Residential assistants (RAs) provide support as the students adjust to their new surroundings. Professional instructors from around the commonwealth support the program by conducting assessments in the following areas: vision rehabilitation therapy, orientation and mobility, assistive technology, and vocational rehabilitation.

Barley said she plans to study biology in college, and the opportunity helped her learn how to navigate a university campus and gain knowledge from others who have been through the process themselves.

“It means a lot for me to be here, and it is very rewarding to learn new skills along the way. Now, I have more tools in my toolbox for the future,” Barley said.

By giving voice prompts and other guidance, RAs helped guide the students through the dormitory and across campus. Program Manager Alex Erdman said the students learned to navigate with fewer prompts every day.

“I am really proud of them for that, and I have also found that they have come together as a family. Everyone is very supportive of each other,” Erdman said, the day before graduation. “Since at home, a lot of them aren’t around people who have visual impairments and blindness, it is really special for them to be accepted in this environment.”

Seventeen-year-old Nathaniel Ogden, from the Greater Philadelphia area, was diagnosed with a condition similar to Barley’s at birth, and his vision loss has progressed further. The academy provided him with an opportunity to make friends and learn from others who face similar challenges, he said.

“I don’t really know a whole lot of people in the blind community. So, meeting the students and the RAs has been a really fun time,” Ogden said.

A Penn State football fan and daughter of a Penn State alum, Barley celebrated her 18th birthday on campus during the academy. During a party, she led the students and staff in the “We Are” chant and was gifted a specialty 3D-printed version of the Nittany Lion statue that was passed around for all the students to feel with their hands.

“Everybody, the whole staff surprised me and got me good. I walked in and it was like the greatest day of my life. I’m never going to forget it,” Nia said.

Conferences and Institutes is a unit of Penn State Outreach.