Angel Espinoza sees a future bright with possibility and independence. He doesn’t see it with his eyes, because of a vision disability, but that doesn’t stop him. The 19-year-old graduate of Liberal High School is currently a music major, but “that could change,” he said. “I am interested in the medical field, and I’m also interested in accessibility testing.”
Espinoza chose Seward County Community College as his next step for many of the same reasons incoming freshmen do: he wanted to get the hang of college in an environment that provided support and opportunity.
“In high school, I was really shy. I mostly interacted with teachers and I didn’t make a lot of friends,” he said. “I wanted to change that and become more independent.”
To prepare for college, Espinoza spent considerable time on campus during the summer, feeling his way through unfamiliar spaces with a retractable white cane.
“I basically walked from class to class until I knew the pattern,” he said. “Now, it’s easy for me to walk from the Hobble Building to the Shank Humanities Building, no problem, but I struggled at first.”
Espinoza is good-natured about his campus interactions, which can sometimes unfold a bit awkwardly. It sometimes seems that people are uncertain about how to begin a conversation, he said, “though I don’t want to assume. It just takes a little time to get comfortable.”
Overall, he appreciates the opportunity to interact without a para to serve as a buffer, which is how he operated through his high school years.
“I’m learning to be more independent,” he said. “That’s the goal for SCCC and whatever I decide to do when I’m finished here.”
The same learning curve applies to his coursework. Thanks to a new Brailleing machine purchased by the college, SCCC staff prepare Braille versions of Espinoza’s textbooks, one chapter at a time. Assignments are also prepped with the machine. For math assignments, which often include visual components and equations, Espinoza relies on a pegboard tool and puffy paint versions of the problems.
Espinoza has always learned music by ear, and is now in the process of learning how to read the Braille version. It’s not the same as literary Braille, he said, but he is tackling the challenge thanks to Zoom lessons with an instructor from the School for the Blind in Kansas City. SCCC instrumental music instructor Claire Thompson, and division chair Dr. Magda Silva are keeping him company on the adventure, he said.
For now, he continues to memorize every piece he plays on clarinet in the SCCC band and pep band. At the music department’s holiday concert, he played his first solo.
“It was nerve-wracking,” he said, “though many people said I did well.”
As he winds up his first semester in college, Espinoza is optimistic about the future. He’s already advanced far beyond his previous educational experiences, and he relishes the freedom this brings.
“It’s an adventure, even for me,”he said.
Categories: Our Community, Saint Stories, Student Success
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