Finding a new path at UC Clermont College

As Sheri Albers accepted her UC Clermont diploma in August, the walk across the stage represented more than academic success; it was also a crucial step of a journey she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to take.
 
Albers is legally blind and suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye disease that has caused gradual vision loss since she was diagnosed at age 2. As her eyesight worsened, the course of her life changed dramatically.

In 1993, Albers, who also has a finance degree, had been working in a high-profile treasury job with watch manufacturer Seiko Corporation of America for more than eight years when she became unable to use her computer or read spreadsheets; she was forced to resign.

“That was a huge blow for me,” Albers says. “I was at the point in my life where my job was my existence and identity.”
 
Determined to stay busy, Albers started a family (she has two daughters, one of whom is now a social work major at UC’s Clifton Campus) and threw herself into daily life as a homemaker.

“I poured myself into my kids and tried to do everything—Girl Scout leader, class mom," Albers said. "I had just left this job and had to prove to myself that I could still be functional.”
 
In 2006, she went into recovery for alcoholism and has been sober since – an experience that made her eager to help others recovering from addiction.

“It’s been frustrating to see friends come in and out of recovery and talk about counselors they’ve encountered who don’t know what it’s like to suffer from addiction,” Albers says. “But I never pursued the profession because of my fear of being blind and of going to back to school at my age, with a disability.”
 
What ultimately helped Albers overcome her fears was getting involved in the National Federation of the Blind.

“Their mission is all about empowerment; blindness is not something that should define you,” she says.

She now serves on the organization’s state board of directors and remains active in the local chapter. Armed with the federation’s support, Albers chose UC Clermont for its addiction counseling program, location (she cannot drive, so the Loveland, Ohio resident needed classes close to home) and friendly atmosphere.
 
“I was looking for a smaller community college as opposed to a large campus because it’s easier for me to navigate,” says Albers.

Once on campus, she found fellow students welcoming and professors accommodating, and she worked with Disability Services to get textbooks electronically. However, Albers was still met with unique challenges. For instance, she would record lectures and take notes on a Braille notetaker, but once at home, she would re-listen to the lecture and study any PowerPoint presentations to fill in the blanks—a process that turned a one-hour classroom lecture into two more hours of work, before even cracking the textbook or assignments. But she persevered and found that she loved learning, even graduating with a 4.0 GPA.

“When I first started this adventure, I thought, ‘OK, I’ll try it.’ After the first semester I thought, ‘wow, I did it. I’ll keep going,’” Albers says. “Then I just got the fever, and I loved school. I loved being back in that environment. I knew why I was there.”
 
Through her UC Clermont classes, Albers met the requirements to earn her first-level certification as a Chemical Dependency Counseling Assistant (CDCA) and spent this past summer interning at the Clermont Recovery Center as a recovery counselor. She plans to pursue her bachelor’s degree through UC, eventually earning higher certification and a professional counselor position.
 
Albers advises students with disabilities to take advantage of UC Clermont’s Disability Services office and to walk into the classroom confidently.

“Tell your professor what you need from day one, and be your own advocate,” she says. “But also, be yourself. Some students were apprehensive about speaking to me, but I found that the more open I was, the more open they were. Keep your sense of humor.”
 
For more information about UC Clermont’s Disability Services Office visit: http://www.ucclermont.edu/students/dso/accommodations.html.