My name is Mary Beltran. I was born in the Phillippines. I have a condition called Retinopathy of Prematurity, so I was totally blinded right after I was born. I moved to San Francisco when I was nine. Before I moved, I wasn’t able to go to school; however, when I got to California I began to attend public school as a fourth grader. Besides my academic subjects, I had to learn Braille, English, and mobility. By the time I was in high school, I was mainstreamed into regular classes and even took some honors classes. In all of the schools I attended, I was the only blind student. My TVI (teacher of the visually impaired) introduced me to the San Francisco Lighthouse, and I attended Enchanted Hills Camp just before I started 5th grade. That experience gave me the feeling that I could travel independently. Also, it was awesome to meet other blind and visually impaired kids my age. Another Bay Area program called Project Insight exposed me to places that I otherwise wouldn’t have gone to with my parents; such as, Great America, Marine World, fishing for the first time, but most importantly just being out and about in the world. I was also an intern in one of their summer day camps, which gave me the opportunity to give back to the program. In 2005-06 the SF Lighthouse started an internship program, and I worked in their San Francisco store. This internship gave me knowledge about different products that are useful to blind people.
During my senior year in high school, I was determined to go away to a 4-year college. However, my mobility instructor and my rehabilitation counselor thought I should check out the Living Skills Center for the Visually Impaired (LSC) in San Pablo, CA. LSC is an apartment program that teaches independent living skills. After a tour, I talked to another student who had attended LSC and decided to attend the program before I went to college. I can’t even begin to tell you how the program changed my life. I gained so much confidence in traveling independently and in making wise decisions in terms of financial management. I also made so many good friends that I know I will keep in contact with.
In January 2007, the Program Director at LSC asked me to begin peer tutoring an LSC student in Braille. That experience has now expanded to include five different students. I am responsible for staying in communication with the regular Braille teacher and the Program Director and making daily notes of every student’s progress. I have to be on time and prepared for each lesson. I am discovering a lot of things about teaching, for example that every student has a different learning style. It’s been a lot of fun! Not only that, LSC is now recommending me to the Department of Rehabilitation and helping me to become certified as in Independent Service Provider (ISP) so that I can get paid to teach Braille!
I plan to move to my own apartment with friends and attend Berkeley Community College in the fall of 2007. Now I feel like I have the confidence to continue living independently and to achieve my goal of becoming a teacher of the visually impaired. I have so many feelings now. I am sad to leave LSC, but I am also very excited to start a new chapter of my life. I am very grateful to my teachers, the Lighthouse, my Rehabilitation counselor, the Living Skills Center and all the people who have helped me along the way.
Mary Beltran
August, 2007
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My name is Mary Beltran. I was born in the Phillippines. I have a condition called Retinopathy of Prematurity, so I was totally blinded right after I was born. I moved to San Francisco when I was nine. Before I moved, I wasn’t able to go to school; however, when I got to California I began to attend public school as a fourth grader. Besides my academic subjects, I had to learn Braille, English, and mobility. By the time I was in high school, I was mainstreamed into regular classes and even took some honors classes. In all of the schools I attended, I was the only blind student. My TVI (teacher of the visually impaired) introduced me to the San Francisco Lighthouse, and I attended Enchanted Hills Camp just before I started 5th grade. That experience gave me the feeling that I could travel independently. Also, it was awesome to meet other blind and visually impaired kids my age. Another Bay Area program called Project Insight exposed me to places that I otherwise wouldn’t have gone to with my parents; such as, Great America, Marine World, fishing for the first time, but most importantly just being out and about in the world. I was also an intern in one of their summer day camps, which gave me the opportunity to give back to the program. In 2005-06 the SF Lighthouse started an internship program, and I worked in their San Francisco store. This internship gave me knowledge about different products that are useful to blind people.