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Chelsey Duranleau

Walking down the Appian Gateway at Keene State College you are likely to come across a young woman walking purposefully. She is a senior, majoring in Spanish and a very skilled white cane user. Born blind from Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), Chelsey Duranleau will graduate from Keene State in May.

While Chelsey is hard-pressed to pick one single experience to highlight her college years, she admits that spending a semester abroad in Spain was unbelievable and probably “one of the best things about coming to Keene.” She also enjoyed attending the last two annual conferences of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) in Detroit and Washington, DC. As New Hampshire’s NFB student chapter president, Chelsey is a strong voice for New Hampshire’s young blind community and hopes more young people will become self-advocates.

Now that she is a senior, Chelsey is often asked, “What do you want to do after college?” As she talks with Jane Warner and Wayne Harvey, she pauses, and then quietly responds, “I wish I had a plan.” Jane is the Director of the Disabilities Services Office at Keene State and Wayne is the Disabilities Services Counselor. The Disabilities Services office at the College supports approximately 440 disabled students annually.

Chelsey goes on to say that she might “like a warmer climate.” Someone mentions Florida and she smiles. Talk turns to what kinds of things kids need after graduation like a job and a place to live. For Chelsey and others with vision impairments safe and easy public transportation system is a must. Daily living skills from consumerism (money, banking, budgeting and credit); personal health and safety (eye condition, emergency numbers, police, fire, ambulance, hospital, basic first aid, primary care doctors, etc.); hygiene and appearance; home management , etc. also rise to the top of the “need to know” list and take on added planning for the visually impaired.

Jane Warner mentions that an Internship next semester might provide some “real world experience.” She and Wayne know of someone in the Washington, D.C. area who could help Chelsey with her transition from school to work. In addition, there is also talk of bringing some “alums” back to campus as part of on-going activities in the Disabilities Services Career Club.

As Chelsey thinks about her options, she admits that she’s scared. The transition from Stevens High School in Claremont to Keene was relatively easy. Bruce Chipman, a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor with the state’s Services for Blind and Visually Impaired, guided her through the college search and when the final decision was made, he made sure she was equipped with all the adaptive technology she needed. Kathleen Turner and Glenn Gunn from the New Hampshire Association for the Blind, both provided Orientation and Mobility instruction during her high school years.

For Chelsey, her determination to succeed and willingness to accept support from others has played a big role in her success. In addition, having access to state-of-the-art adaptive technology such as her BrailleNote helps “level the playing field” for Chelsey and other blind students with their sighted peers.

Over the next few months Chelsey will be making some very important decisions. But we can all be sure she’ll “do her homework” to prepare for the next step. We can’t wait to find out what it will be!