Blind local graduate receives large scholarship

Posted by WTRF News

WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) — Getting through high school can seem daunting at the best of times, but imagine trying to navigate high school life being visually impaired. It would be the challenge of a lifetime, but one recent graduate is not letting this challenge hold her back from her goals and dreams.

Haley Nisperly is a recent graduate of Wheeling Park High School, and she is visually impaired. More specifically, she has Optic Atrophy and has been diagnosed with total color blindness and myopia. But she did not let these diagnosis hold her down, not only did Haley graduate from high school, but she maintained a 4.0-grade point average since her freshman year.

She was just recently awarded a $10,000 Scholarship from Lighthouse Guild in New York City to help her with her financial needs while attending the University of Charleston, in Charleston, West Virginia. She plans to major in Political Science to fulfill her dreams of being an advocate for the visually impaired and blind in government.

“I want to be an instrumental part of reforming our state by advocating for the visually impaired community through new legislation and lobbying to get funds to help other students/ adults like myself. I hope to become a Social Security Disability Attorney to assist other blind/low-vision students, adults, and other people with disabilities fight for the financial independence they deserve as well as help to overcome these issues that I have faced and still face as I navigate my way through life as a visually impaired person.”

HAILEY NISPERLY, WHEELING PARK HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE

Hailey states that her high school experience has shed new light on how blind/low-vision people, must fight for things that ordinary citizens take for granted to enable the visually impaired to succeed in the real world.

She goes on to say that she was often bullied due to her visual impairment, and treated differently. She says that it has been a difficult journey, but everything that she has been through has taught her a lot of life lessons, what she wants to do with her life, and has helped her become mentally and emotionally stronger.