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http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive4/060906/tp1de1.htm?date=060906&story=tp1de1.htm
Fort Ogden resident Randy William Reed, 18, was named salutatorian for the 2006 graduating class from the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.
Reed was among 84 graduates who participated in the school's 92nd graduation ceremony on May 19 in St. Augustine. He completed a vocational career education certification in the business support services field.
Reed, a friendly, chatty teen who was interviewed for a June 2005 Sun story about his preparation to compete in a national braille competition. Reed was born totally blind because of an eye disease called Leber's congenital amaurosis. A straight A student at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine, he used talking computer software and Braille note takers to keep up with his sighted peers.
"Braille literacy has been so important in Randy's life," his mother Beth Reed said at that time. "He would not be able to succeed without it."
During the school year, Randy traveled to St. Augustine every Sunday, leaving from Port Charlotte with a group of about 10 students from DeSoto and Charlotte counties. On Fridays, school ended early and they rode a bus back to Southwest Florida. Once a month, the students spent a long weekend at home.
Reed has received a scholarship from the Foundation for the Schools for the Deaf and the Blind of Florida for $1,000, renewable each year he attends a college or postsecondary institution of his choice. He also received the Pierre G. Jenkins $1,000 scholarship from Dr. Paul Hund of the St. Augustine Eye Center.
In recognition of his academic achievements, Reed received the Robert L. Hays Salutatorian Achievement award, and the Association of Former Students and Friends of the Florida School for the Blind "Best All-Around Senior" Award.
In addition to his academic achievements, Reed was active in the popular Outta Sight student band and was in the drama club and the goalball team. He excelled in honors and advanced placement courses. He was an academic tutor to other students and participated in swimming and track and field competition in Miami during the Junior Orange Bowl Games. He attended NASA Space Camp, was a participant in the "Close-Up" government study program in Washington D.C. and he competed at the national level in California last year during the National Braille Challenge Invitational.
The National Braille Challenge is the only national academic competition for blind students in the nation, according to the press release. The challenge is designed to motivate and encourage them to continue their study of Braille. Braille is a form of writing used by the blind that uses arrangements of one to six raised dots representing the alphabet embossed on paper, which are "read" by gliding over the dots with fingers.
A Blind Department graduate and an honor roll student, Reed's future plans are to attend Florida Gulf Coast University and major in broadcasting.
For more information about the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, go online to www.fsdb.k121.fl.us.
Fort Ogden resident Randy William Reed, 18, was named salutatorian for the 2006 graduating class from the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.
Reed was among 84 graduates who participated in the school's 92nd graduation ceremony on May 19 in St. Augustine. He completed a vocational career education certification in the business support services field.
Reed, a friendly, chatty teen who was interviewed for a June 2005 Sun story about his preparation to compete in a national braille competition. Reed was born totally blind because of an eye disease called Leber's congenital amaurosis. A straight A student at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine, he used talking computer software and Braille note takers to keep up with his sighted peers.
"Braille literacy has been so important in Randy's life," his mother Beth Reed said at that time. "He would not be able to succeed without it."
During the school year, Randy traveled to St. Augustine every Sunday, leaving from Port Charlotte with a group of about 10 students from DeSoto and Charlotte counties. On Fridays, school ended early and they rode a bus back to Southwest Florida. Once a month, the students spent a long weekend at home.
Reed has received a scholarship from the Foundation for the Schools for the Deaf and the Blind of Florida for $1,000, renewable each year he attends a college or postsecondary institution of his choice. He also received the Pierre G. Jenkins $1,000 scholarship from Dr. Paul Hund of the St. Augustine Eye Center.
In recognition of his academic achievements, Reed received the Robert L. Hays Salutatorian Achievement award, and the Association of Former Students and Friends of the Florida School for the Blind "Best All-Around Senior" Award.
In addition to his academic achievements, Reed was active in the popular Outta Sight student band and was in the drama club and the goalball team. He excelled in honors and advanced placement courses. He was an academic tutor to other students and participated in swimming and track and field competition in Miami during the Junior Orange Bowl Games. He attended NASA Space Camp, was a participant in the "Close-Up" government study program in Washington D.C. and he competed at the national level in California last year during the National Braille Challenge Invitational.
The National Braille Challenge is the only national academic competition for blind students in the nation, according to the press release. The challenge is designed to motivate and encourage them to continue their study of Braille. Braille is a form of writing used by the blind that uses arrangements of one to six raised dots representing the alphabet embossed on paper, which are "read" by gliding over the dots with fingers.
A Blind Department graduate and an honor roll student, Reed's future plans are to attend Florida Gulf Coast University and major in broadcasting.
For more information about the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, go online to www.fsdb.k121.fl.us.