Muhlenberg High School graduate doesn't let sight impairment slow her down
'It was quite confusing growing up legally blind,' she said. 'People are curious about it. Other kids would ask me, 'How do you see?' — which is so hard for a 5-year-old to answer.
'My classmates would ask me why my eyes were closed, why I wasn't looking at them, and I didn't know how to explain it.'
That's still a bit of a challenge for Wagner, even as an 18-year-old high school graduate. But she's dedicated to doing the best she can to help people understand.
Wagner was born with cone-rod dystrophy, a genetic disorder that effects about one in every 30,000 people. The condition renders her color blind — she sees in only black, white and gray — makes her eyes sensitive to light and makes her struggle with depth perception.
Without her glasses, she has 20/400 eyesight.
'That means what you should be able to see at 400 feet I can only see at 20 feet,' she explained.
It would be reasonable to think the disorder would be an impediment for Wagner, a hurdle slowing her from achieving her dreams. But that's never been the case.
'My parents raised me to believe that if I want something to not let anything stand in my way,' she said.
Wagner took that lesson to heart.
Instead of struggling, she has thrived. She became an academic dynamo and recently graduated from Muhlenberg High School as valedictorian of her class.
'It's a big accomplishment because it showed all the work I put in was worth it,' she said of earning the honor. 'But it's not a defining moment. There's still so much to do.'
That kind of mindset is what led Wagner to excel during her time at Muhlenberg. So did being creative and willing to adapt.
She found ways to lessen the impact of her blindness, like using digital textbooks, a closed circuit television system, Braille, a special computer and large-print text books.
'My text books were absolutely giant,' she said with a laugh.
In high school, she was able to use her cellphone in class, taking photos of what her teachers wrote on the board and blowing it up to a larger size that she could see.
Wagner was drawn to math, science and engineering, saying she was always good with her hands and enjoyed solving problems. That led her to pursue a research project — one she would end up presenting at science fairs — aimed at finding viable alternatives for fossil fuels.
Wagner said she was often overlooked when she shared her projects at science fairs, with some people questioning her abilities because of her blindness and being a woman in the traditionally male-dominated world of science and engineering.
'There are always negative people,' she said. 'There's always going to be people who don't think you can do something or don't believe in you, it comes from a lack of understanding.'
Wagner said she is dedicated to overcoming that naivety and showing everyone that a visual impairment doesn't have to be a constraint.
'When you're born visually impaired you have to be very creative, you have to learn to adapt to your surroundings to be able to do everything that everyone else is doing,' she said. 'No one knows you better than yourself, no one knows your limits but yourself. I don't like to set limits at all because then there's a threshold for success.'
Wagner will continue seeking success this fall at Cornell University. She has received a $10,000 scholarship from Lighthouse Guild in New York City to help cover the costs.
She will study environmental engineering and perhaps minor in chemical engineering at Cornell. She said she plans to eventually seek a PhD in sustainable energy, work in research and teach.
'My goal is to pave a path in the STEM fields for anybody with a disability, and women as well,' she said. 'I've not always felt the field is inclusive, and I don't want other people to feel that way.
'I want people to know that they can do it. Just be creative and keep trying and eventually you'll prove people wrong.'
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