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Former CVI Client Shares Tips for Students Interested in the Field of Technology

For children and young adults with vision loss, the right education and academic support can be essential in building their futures. A promising field for people of all ages with visual impairment is computer programming and technology. This summer, we were excited to hold a series of summer intensives for school-aged kids to help them learn tech and coding skills in an accessible environment.

Image shows African American man gesturing to the computer in a classroom explaining something to a female caucasian teen

We caught up with one of our guest speakers, Rhett Prince, to get his top tips and advice for children and young adults interested in developing their tech abilities. Rhett is a software engineer, data scientist, and former CVI client.

Tips:

  1. YouTube is your friend.” MIT and Stanford both offer free courses online, and you can even access problem sets that they provide for practice. “Search ‘opencourseware’ and then the name of the course or subject that you want to take,” he advises, “and you can find pretty much anything you want.”
  2. Computer programming and data science are some of the most accessible fields of technology. “The software documentation”- written text explaining how the program works and how to use it- “are very good in those areas,” says Prince.
  3.  “It’s very important to find a way to show somebody that you have skills beyond what they think you have.” Although Prince has encountered people who doubted his skills after learning of his visual impairment, he has learned to push back and be his own advocate. “You may end up having to just basically stop the conversation and explain to them what your abilities are, and that your limitations are not what they think they are,” says Prince.
  4. Finally, “You can do anything you want to.” To anyone with visual impairment who dreams of a career in computer science or technology, Rhett has this to say: “You just have to put your mind to it, and don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t.”

If you are the parent or guardian of a child experiencing vision loss, whether they are settling into kindergarten or heading to college, CVI is here to provide the training and support that they need to succeed. Check out our technology classes designed to help your child discover their potential.