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by Alexis Read
Alexis Read grew up in Williston, ND, and received services from NDVS/SB as a child. Last summer, she attended an Orientation and Mobility (O&M) program at Leader Dogs for the Blind in Michigan to learn O&M skills that would allow her to independently cross a complex intersection near her home in Florida. As Alexis shares in this article, both the on-campus and in-home instruction from Leader Dogs made a huge difference in her life, giving her more independence and confidence. She hopes this article will encourage others to take steps that will expand their world.
I graduated from high school in 1999. Prior to graduation, I received services from North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind. In my adult years, I learned about a resource that I want to share with others.
I was born in Australia in early 1981. My parents did not receive the official diagnosis of my visual impairment until I was four months of age. After my first birthday, my mother decided to move back to her home state of North Dakota with my older brother and me. She realized she would need family support raising a child with a visual impairment. Her parents still lived in the small community where she grew up.
I started to receive vision services in the summer of 1982 from a woman who was my teacher until I graduated from high school. Phyllis taught me skills related to the Expanded Core Curriculum; however, I would meet another teacher in 1991 who would help me learn to navigate my home area. Paul Olson, then the Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Specialist for NDVS/SB, had to travel six hours to work with me so his trips were infrequent but beneficial.
After I moved away from North Dakota in 2006, I received O&M instruction on a more frequent basis. I was exposed to many different teaching styles and methods over the years.
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NDVS/SB APH Coordinator
I grew up in Grand Forks, ND and graduated from Central High School. I went to UND right after high school but didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I spent some time at Northland Community and Technical College and got my associate’s degree. I took some time off and revisited UND years later. I graduated with a master’s in Kinesiology in the spring of 2022.
I’ve held a lot of different jobs. The longest job I’ve held was at a company called Support Systems Inc. in Grand Forks. I worked as Supervisor and Direct Support Professional. I managed a large caseload of clients and staff. I worked with clients in their homes and in the community. I found this work to be extremely rewarding. The most random job I’ve held so far was working at a kiwi factory in California! I worked on a line where I picked the best kiwis to be packaged and shipped across the country!
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“It’s going to be OK tomorrow.”
“You have to know how much is in you.”
These were two of the mantras that Menuka “Jyoti” Rai repeated to herself while pursuing her doctorate in physical therapy through the University of Jamestown over the last 3 years. After graduating in May, Menuka is actively looking for a job while reflecting on how she got here, pursuing her dream career as a physical therapist. Ever since she was a little girl, Menuka has wanted to work in medicine. She spent much of her childhood in a refugee camp in Nepal. “I lost a lot of family members and neighbors there. I myself faced a lot of health problems,” she explains. At the age of 6, Menuka was diagnosed with retinoblastoma and subsequently lost all of her vision. But her blindness never diminished her goal of working in healthcare. “In high school, after I moved here [to Grand Forks, North Dakota], we went on a tour of Northland Community and Technical College. That’s when I learned about physical therapy. What was really appealing was that you can help people without medications or performing surgeries,” she says, both of which would be complicated with no vision. “I can contribute to the healthcare field but do it without equipment. PT is mostly knowledge and skill.” And – she has learned – a lot of hard work.
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Denali Littlewind attended student short-term programs (STPs) at NDVS/SB throughout her elementary, middle school, and high school years. A member of the Spirit Lake
Tribe, she kept coming back because she knew the skills she was learning “were going to be really helpful for the future,” she says. “I learned so much about vision there.” Now, as a 21-year-old working young adult with low vision, she’s putting those lessons learned to good use.
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by Paul Olson, NDVS/SB Superintendent
As the Superintendent of NDVS/SB, I visit the legislature every other year to testify in regard to our agency budget request. I always enjoy telling our story as part of that process. It is our opportunity to go on record about needs in the state as well as our successes and challenges. Over the years I have had a few opportunities to testify about specific questions that have come up in the interim. I was recently asked to provide testimony at the Capitol on May 27th to the Health & Human Services Committee made up of members of the North Dakota Senate and the House. This Committee had formally inquired about vision screening practices for infants. This question arose as an off shoot of an interim study regarding screening practices for children that might be deaf and hard of hearing. In addition to this topic, the committee asked me to address how citizens of the state with low vision and blindness experience state government in general.
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by Cindy Williams, TSVI, Coordinator of Student Programs
As another successful school year comes to a close, we celebrate the growth, accomplishments, and perseverance of our students and families. While summer brings opportunities for recreation and sunshine, it also provides the opportunity for students who are blind or have low vision to continue building important life skills beyond the classroom. Summer experiences can support growth in areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC), including independent living, assistive technology, self-determination, and community readiness. These essential skills help students gain greater confidence, independence, and access to both their education and everyday environments. Throughout the summer months, many national organizations offer engaging programs, resources, and activities that families can incorporate at home to encourage continued learning and skill development.
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by Tracy Wicken, Assistive Technology Specialist
After 41 years of working for the State of North Dakota, 21 of which working for ND Vision Services/School for the Blind as an Assistive Technology Specialist and Teacher
of the Visually Impaired, I am retiring and becoming, what is stated by Gemini on the computer as a “Seenager,” which is a popular blend of "senior" and "teenager"—describing someone who has money, can sleep in, and has zero parental supervision. It sounds great, doesn’t it! I will now go down memory lane a bit.
I started working for Services for the Visually Impaired back in 1985. At the time, it was a prevocational program through the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation for adults in North Dakota with vision loss. There were four staff people in that office: an administrator, an administrative assistant, an Orientation and Mobility Instructor, and me, as the Communications Instructor. I taught braille reading and writing, typing, handwriting, labelling, and money identification. Technology for the blind was in its infancy, and computers were the size of large pieces of furniture or bigger! People with vision loss came to Grand Forks from all across North Dakota for this training and would stay in Grand Forks for 10-12 weeks. I loved the work I was doing there. I was helping people, and I met many people who I am still in contact with today.
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Our new Transition Specialist is a familiar face! Lilly Dunrud became our Transition Specialist in December. Read about her new role below.
I started working at NDVS/SB in December of 2018 as the APH Coordinator/ Administrative Assistant. In December 2025, I was hired as the Transition Specialist, which truly has been a dream come true. Having worked here for so many years, I feel that knowing the ins and outs of the agency has made this transition into my new role so much smoother.
As the new Transition Specialist at NDVS/SB, I am excited to continue building my knowledge and skills so I can best support students who are blind or have low vision as they prepare for life after high school. My goal is to help students build confidence, independence, and self-advocacy skills while exploring career interests, post-secondary education, employment opportunities, independent living skills, and community involvement. I look forward to helping students and families navigate transition planning, connect with resources, and develop the tools they need to successfully reach their personal goals.
Categories: All News Items, Adult Programming News, Spotlight
There are plenty of stereotypes regarding people who are blind, most of them negative. Even though people who are blind or have low vision prove these stereotypes wrong by simply living normal lives - succeeding in their jobs, raising families, and living independently, the stereotypes persist.
Jeremy Schmidt of Bismarck is one of those people proving the stereotype wrong. Jeremy has been blind his entire life, but – perhaps surprising to some people - graduated from college, has a successful career working as a Contact Service Representative for Social Security, is raising a family, and continues to grow and challenge himself. He is, you could say, living a normal life, where blindness can be a challenge at times but does not define his life.
Categories: All News Items, Adult Programming News, Spotlight
The first time Chawnteeka Cooper attended an adult program at NDVS/SB, about 15 years ago, she was nervous. But the staff and instructors quickly made her feel comfortable. “They are all so encouraging,” Chawnteeka says. Over the years, she’s worked on cleaning techniques, cooking, braille, and technology skills during the weeks she’s attended adult programs and when NDVS/SB staff have visited her home. After she had her daughter, certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist Paul Olson, who also serves as Superintendent of NDVS/SB, taught her how to use her white cane while pushing a stroller. Now, she has a new goal – to get a guide dog. But that is no small feat. “I’m working hard to get my dog,” she says. “I have to pass a test to get one,” and Orientation & Mobility Specialist Margo Lentz is helping her learn what she needs to accomplish that goal. “I feel safe with her,” Chawnteeka says of Margo. “I know she’d jump in front of a car for me, for any of her students.”