Patricia's Story: There is Always a Way

Patricia Hagerty
Sac State Student

I believe that my strengths are a positive attitude and perseverance. As a person with visual loss, I often have to figure out different ways to do my daily activities. Sometimes this involves trying different methods until I find the one that works for me. For instance, I mark my kitchen and laundry appliances with dots so I can read the settings apart, like high, medium and low on the stove and hot, warm or cold on the washing machine. I have found that there is always a way to adapt in order to make my daily living skills easy to manage. I use self determination to find out what the problem is and how to solve it. I find that it is important not to give up and never loose hope because there is always an answer and I will find it. This is a message that I like to share with others.

My proudest accomplishment has been raising my two sons. My sons Erik Bowling and Chris Hagerty always had a very natural reaction to having a mother with visual loss.  From a very young age, they just regarded me as their mom. My visual loss did not bother them. In fact, they have always been enthusiastic about helping me. As children, they enjoyed helping me in small ways like picking things up if I dropped something or walking to the store with me, so they grew up with knowing the value of helping others.  Today they are grown, kind hearted and caring young men with goals for their future. I am a very proud mother and they have been the greatest gift in my life. 
Another accomplishment that I am proud of is learning to get around with my guidedog, Dorian. Dorian is a three year old, yellow lab and he loves to go places.  Before I got Dorian from Guidedogs for the Blind, I used a cane to travel. Every time I went somewhere I prayed to God that he would show me whatever I needed to see in my environment while traveling. Now when I travel, Dorian is my eyes. Dorian is the answer to my prayers. He learns routes quickly and once I teach him a route, he remembers it like the back of his paw. I feel blessed to have him in my life.

I am passionate about learning and helping others. I feel fortunate to be a CSUS graduate student working for my Master of Science in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling. Currently I am doing my internship at California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR), Capitol Mall Branch. My internship at DOR is a valuable learning experience in preparing me to be a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC). I want to be a vocational rehabilitation counselor (VRC) so I can help people with disabilities like myself. As a person with visual loss I have experienced some of the barriers and challenges to education and employment that often confront people with disabilities. I feel that there is always a way to overcome these barriers. 
Today there are various services that offer assistance to people with disabilities to help them achieve their goals. CSUS is a great example. At CSUS there is Services for Students with Disabilities (SSWD) where professionals assist students with disabilities in finding solutions to help them reach their educational goals. Students with disabilities can also find help at the CSUS High Tech Center (HTC) where assistive technology and books in alternative format are available. The guide strips make it easy for students with visual loss to travel at the CSUS campus. It is nice to have something to follow and stay in line when traveling in such a big campus with many open areas. As a future VRC, I hope to help people with disabilities find the services they need to achieve their goals.

Something that surprises people about me is that I like to write poetry. I have found that writing poetry helps me in times of difficulty and stress. I find it comforting to write poetry. I feel that writing poetry is a good way for me to express my feelings and imagination. I like to write about imagery that I picture in my mind. I enjoy reading poetry because I find it inspiring.

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