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Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Blind mother of 5 graduates from college with honors alongside her guide dog
When a Tennessee mother of five received her college degree on May 9, she couldn't see her family cheering in the audience – because she is completely blind. Even so, as Amanda Juetten, 47, crossed the stage to accept her degree – magna cum laude – from Tennessee Tech University, she was more certain than ever about her path forward. "I'm totally blind," Juetten told Fox News Digital in an interview. "So I've got my guide dog by my side." Food Choices That Can Boost Your Vision And Protect Against Eye Disease "The two guys I was sitting by told me to follow them — we were a team. I'm concentrating on shaking all the hands and getting across the stage. I was thinking, 'This isn't the end. It's really the beginning of what's next.'" Juetten, who recently became a grandmother, began her college journey nearly 30 years ago, but had to postpone her studies when she had a baby right out of high school — and immediately went to work to provide for her new family. Read On The Fox News App She eventually returned to higher education, but in 2020, after years of progressive vision loss from a condition called retinitis pigmentosa, she found herself in the dark — literally. "I was left totally blind with no skills for blindness," Juetten said. "Over the years, I had been taught a lot of skills for using my remaining vision, but not what to do with no vision at all.'" Girl Desperate To See The World Before She Goes Completely Blind Determined to regain her independence, she enrolled in an eight-month program at the Colorado Center for the Blind. "I thought, 'I know blind parents make their kids' lunches. I know blind parents go to PTA meetings. I can do this. I just need to be around a bunch of other blind people,'" she recalled. "Blind people are not sitting in their basements waiting for the end. They're out there living their lives, and I wanted to do that, too." With her new skills and adaptive techniques — and a renewed sense of confidence — Juetten enrolled at Tennessee Tech in the fall of 2022, pursuing a professional studies degree with a concentration in organizational leadership. "It's been great," Juetten said. "The instructors were asking, 'What are your needs? How can I make this accessible to you?' They have been fantastic for doing that. I never got pushback. I didn't get people saying, 'Why are you taking these classes?'" Now, the newly graduated Juetten is advocating for more acceptance and understanding of the blind. "The blind need a voice," Juetten said. "I have a voice and I love to use it. I want to help give people the skills to find their voice. We need more teachers and more people in the field who believe in the full capacity of the blind." Next, she plans to pursue a graduate degree in blindness rehabilitation and possibly even a doctorate. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Health Newsletter "I want to begin offering services in assistive technology, Braille and the things I've learned and am doing well," Juetten said. "I want to teach blind people as a vendor of vocational rehabilitation." Juetten has traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby for blindness-related initiatives and to San Francisco to protest rideshare drivers who deny service to passengers with wheelchairs or service animals. She also serves on the board of the National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee and is a past president of the Tennessee Association of Guide Dog Users. Her guide dog, Colonel, is always by her side. For more Health articles, visit Juetten has the below message for anyone facing blindness. "You still have the same hopes and dreams," she said. "All of those things that you wanted to do before you were blind, you still want to do those things. So let's find a way to do that."Original article source: Blind mother of 5 graduates from college with honors alongside her guide dog
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Middle Tennessee reacts to homecoming of native astronaut Barry ‘Butch' Wilmore
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Communities across Middle Tennessee breathed a sigh of relief after Barry 'Butch' Wilmore safely returned to Earth Tuesday afternoon. Wilmore, a Middle Tennessee native, left for what was supposed to be an eight-day trip to the International Space Station in June 2024. After months of delays, Wilmore was one of several astronauts to safely return to Earth in the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft Wednesday afternoon. RELATED: Tennessee Tech University ready to welcome Barry 'Butch' Wilmore home Wilmore, an active member of the Board of Trustees for Tennessee Tech University, got a warm welcome back from his alma mater. 'The entire Tennessee Tech community celebrates the safe return of our trustee, alumnus, friend and hero, Barry 'Butch' Wilmore,' TTU president Phil Oldham said. 'Over the last nine months, Barry has shown the world the strength and tenacity that our campus has witnessed up close over many years. His faith sustained him through unexpected challenges and brought him to this moment. He has made all of us at his alma mater enormously proud. With this historic mission, Barry has not only further cemented his place in the history of Tennessee Tech, but also in the history of spaceflight. Today, we rejoice with Barry's family who will soon get their long-awaited reunion with their husband, father, brother and son – and we look forward to Barry's return to this campus in the coming months, where we are already planning ways to honor his achievement and remind him of all he means to his fellow Golden Eagles.' VIDEO: Mt. Juliet honors Barry Wilmore ahead of return flight The Mt. Juliet Police Department reposted a social media post from NASA confirming splashdown and welcoming Wilmore back. Governor Bill Lee reposted the same post from NASA on X, thanking President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk for their efforts getting Wilmore home. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
