Burlington Resident Embraces Visual Impairment

Meaghan Roper, a Wheelock College sophomore, is legally blind; however, this elementary education major embraces her visual impairment. Her possibilities are endless through perseverance and her “Wheelock College family.”

Roper was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) at age 5, and at age 6, she was diagnosed with uveitis. Both are autoinflammatory diseases. While JRA is an inflammation of the joints, uveitis is an inflammation of the uvea, the middle layer of the eye. During freshman year at Burlington High School, she was declared legally blind.

Wheelock College had always been her first choice during her college search as the intimate, accessible campus appealed to her. The College’s small classes facilitate the importance of fostering close relationships with her professors with whom she must self-advocate also impressed her. She also chose Wheelock because she was inspired by its mission: “My personal mission is to teach and become an advocate for students who — like me — experience a vision loss or are born with a vision loss and do not know how to advocate for themselves. This is essentially Wheelock’s mission … to improve the lives of children and families.

Roper finds that her Wheelock College professors are eager to accommodate her academic needs. If they use worksheets, they send them to her in advance in a way that they are accessible through her iPad 2. “I embrace my visual impairment by remaining open about the issue. I’m not ashamed. I encourage people to ask me questions; questions never offend me,” she says. I like to educate people to the fact that visually impaired people are normal; they just see and navigate the world differently. I’m not so much impaired as I am differently abled.”

Visual impairment certainly does not slow Roper down as a Wheelock student. In addition to maintaining a rigorous class load, she works at the Earl Center for Learning and Innovation and at the HOPE House Program at the Cotting School in Lexington, MA, which is a live-in program for students with disabilities. She is a Wheelock College Student Ambassador and an Early College Access Associate. She also completed the Rise Up! Program and founded the Nerd and Gaming Association, which brings students together to share individual passions.

Roper consistently reinforces the idea that “having a vision impairment can drive you to work harder … to persevere!” She continues: “It can push you forward, and help you reach goals through more learning experiences than you could ever imagine! The possibilities are endless!” Roper’s positive attitude and hard work will enable her to make lasting impacts in improving the lives of children and families.