This Week At Metro: Graduates cover a broad spectrum of experiences, Kevin Darcy

Kevin Darcy

Kevin Darcy had only been driving a year when he started to go blind. For anyone, the thought of going blind is horrifying. It is even more so when you are only 17. "It started really slow at first and was only in my right eye. Then, while I was reading books, pieces of letters weren't there. Teachers thought I was out of my mind," says Darcy, now 29, who is preparing to graduate with a double degree in anthropology and history.

The cause turned out to be a genetic condition onset in the teen years. Though the (now) father of two has not let the obstacle stop him from moving forward, he admits that time has been a huge factor. "I have to scan worksheets and texts so that I can enlarge letters to about an inch or so. All of my books get scanned into a Word document and my computer has a program that speaks to me."

Darcy, who has 20/400 vision, does not have a seeing-eye dog. He says he sometimes "misses a step and goes down, but that's life. "He just gets up and continues moving forward. It's a great lesson to share with others, he believes, specifically teens.

Darcy is also working towards teacher licensure and says his ideal job would be to teach history to high school students.