A Technological Miracle

“That’s impossible,” many would say, but I caught up with Catherine Green in between classes who declared, “I’m a blind student doing photography.”

She went on to say that she is using cutting edge technology to excel in photography classes here at MHCC. Just like the rest of us, Catherine is finding a way to overcome adversity and be successful her academics.

Science fiction writers have been tantalizing us with technological tools to transform us into super-humans for many years. When I discovered there is a blind person studying photography here at MHCC, I had to investigate, because something that was science fiction in the 1990s (re: Geordi La Forge of “Star Trek”) has become a science fact today. 

Catherine Green lost her sight three years ago during a chaotic time that included houselessness and a relationship ending. She had a significant epileptic seizure combined with a fall, resulting in the part of her brain which controls where the eyes focus being electrically damaged, and leading to a very limited field of vision. Traditional glasses won’t help because it’s not her eyes that are damaged.  

Skills from her previous life gave her the ability to read body language, and she has been able to use that to continue to function in society.

“I call it ‘blob language’ because, like, blobs move and lean forward and stuff, right? But if you get mad at me and your facial expressions change, I wouldn’t see it,” she said. 

Luckily, many communities and organizations have stepped in to help Catherine continue to live life to the full. She also has a good friend who seems to act like a guardian angel. 

Her friend, John P., one day commented that “a camera is nothing but a thick lens that you can see through because it focuses up close,” and this opened Catherine’s eyes to new possibilities.

Today’s newer cameras have an LCD screen the user can hold right in front of the eye – right in Catherine’s sweet spot. With this discovery, she set out to study photography. 

She went to another college in our region, but that community’s culture wasn’t a great fit for her needs. “I’m doing this for the fun of it,” she said, and found the other school was “a nightmare,” insisting that she do things in ways that wouldn’t work for her abilities.  

John suggested that she come out to MHCC, and then things began flowing for her. “The first term was a dream!” Catherine commented. Financial aid, enrollment, books – everything started showing up. There were hiccups, but the instructors and staff were happy to work with her and navigate the kinks. 

Then John strongly encouraged her to try Apple’s new VR headset. She resisted, as the other headsets she had tried weren’t helpful. “I’ve tried VR headsets. They have OK video. They don’t track my eyes when they start to shake,” she said.

But the Apple VR headset is different. “I put it on and everything’s crystal clear… I can see the board like every other student. I can complain that ‘it’s too small’ like every other student,” she said, laughing. The instructor can even see if Catherine is paying attention because the front of the headset mimics her eyes. 

“The two things that are world-changing is my MacBook screen can be the size of the room that I’m in. That allows me to edit photos, read documents, do emails,” she said. “The other thing? I can see your expressions on your face when I have it on.”  

Once she found the right tool set, she worked with our college to get approval and secure funding to purchase the equipment. David Pontious, head of Accessible Education Services, provided the letter to show that she had the backing of the school, and three organizations (Commission for the Blind, Prism Health, Blanche Fischer Foundation) contributed the necessary funds to purchase the technology. “With the backing of the school knowing that I was going to be able to use it, (that) allowed it to happen,” she said.  

One of the concerns raised relates to potential cheating in other classes, as the headset allows Catherine to search the internet. However, the system can also be disconnected from the Web and use only a local wireless connection. Another way this issue is mitigated is to link her headset to an iPad so the instructor can proctor any tests. The instructor sees everything that Catherine sees, which Catherine admits is kind of creepy, in that it’s like they are watching through her eyeballs. 

“The device didn’t give me the 4.0 (GPA). This gave me the key to ‘the library’ to get my 4.0,” she said, beaming. “I’m on the edge of cutting technology [in] that I’m a blind student doing photography.”

S. Cousins