Visually impaird student gets great opportunity!

Bowser, a 16-year-old Geneva High School junior, was born with cerebral palsy and glaucoma.
Outgoing and friendly, Bowser reads her books and notes in Braille and shuttles from class to class in a wheelchair, relying on her army of friends and classmates for help.

Bowser and her teacher for the visually impaired, Kathy Fuller, will present a hands-on workshop to help Geneva High School students understand the obstacles Bowser faces as a visually impaired student.

"I love my friends to death - - they would do anything for me - - but they don't really know what it is like to be blind," Bowser said.

Together, Bowser and Fuller have developed a lesson plan and made paper eyeglasses to demonstrate different degrees of visual impairment. They will present the lesson today.

"The students are interested in Braille, and it is important for them to see what it is like for students, like Hannah, who have to live with this every day," Fuller said. "Maybe the students will empathize with all people who are visually impaired, whether it be students or even the elderly," she said.
Bowser said she enjoys teaching and has presented lessons to elementary students and works with the Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities unit in the school district.

"Hannah is very open about her visual impairment, and she is very into educating others about it," Fuller said.

Bowser and Fuller have been working together for two years.

"I really want to thank Mrs. Fuller for her help," Bowser said.

Bowser's parents and sisters, Torey and Paige Bowser, support Bowser in her ambitions, including her goal to attend the Columbus School for the Blind after she graduates next year.
"My dad is kind of overprotective, so sometimes it is hard on him," she said.

Bowser said she feels like she fits in at the high school, despite her physical disabilities. She enjoys listening to the country band Rascal Flatts and plays computer pinball by ear instead of sight.

"I have a ton of friends here, and the kids are wonderful. I am very accepted, and I try to be normal like everyone else," she said.