MIAMI — Milton Young could have been a graduate of the “School of Hard Knocks.” His father abandoned his family when he was a young boy. He gave up his academic dreams to work and help pay for his siblings’ schooling. Years later, he lost his loving wife to an aneurysm six days after giving birth to their third child.
But Young’s story has a happy middle.
This spring, Young will graduate with a computer engineering degree from Miami Dade College (MDC) and a 3.93 grade point average, to boot. What makes his story stand out? Young is 61 years old and blind.
Young was diagnosed with advanced open-angled glaucoma nearly five years ago. He can’t see from his right eye and can only make out gray and cloudy images from his left eye. He learned to read Braille at the Lighthouse for the Blind and now uses apps from his iPhone to help him study.
“Some people become reclusive [when they lose their eyesight]” he said. “But this class was my signature for coming back.”
Young is referring to his Introduction to Photography course. The College’s ACCESS Program (A Comprehensive Center for Exceptional Student Services) encouraged him to sign up. Although scared to fail, Milton obliged. His professor, Tony Chirinos, equipped him with a point-and-shoot camera, and put him to work.
