Murphy Diep

Future Accountant

Visually impaired student recovers optimism with second chance at college.

At just 10 years old, 新加坡六合彩开奖 student Murphy Diep realized his entire life was going to change. A rare genetic eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa was starting to affect his vision.

The first thing to go, Diep said, was his night sight.

Then, his peripheral vision.

Now, at 30 years old, Diep relies on a cane to help him navigate and uses an audio screen reader for his computer.

Yet, when he was a child, he couldn鈥檛 foresee where he would be now. In fact, Diep didn鈥檛 learn of his diagnosis until he was 15. Unfortunately, his younger sister was also going through symptoms of retinitis pigmentosa, which made things confusing.

鈥淲e thought that鈥檚 how it鈥檚 supposed to be and my parents didn鈥檛 know either,鈥� Diep recalled. 鈥淏ut, slowly, our peripheral vision went away.鈥�

Once Diep鈥檚 peripheral vision faded between ages 11 and 12, he realized he couldn鈥檛 play sports anymore.

鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 see the ball on the sides and when the ball moved very fast 鈥� that鈥檚 when I started losing sight of 鈥� my eyes couldn鈥檛 keep up with the movement of the ball,鈥� he said.

Eventually, he, his sister and their family went to the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle to learn of their diagnosis.

鈥淚t was a relief to finally know what was going on with our eyes, to have something to explain,鈥� Diep said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 an eye condition that deteriorates over time and I think in 2011鈥�12 was when my vision deteriorated to the point I needed to use a cane. I couldn鈥檛 use my eyes to read letters or anything like that anymore.鈥�

During his teenage years, Diep went to the Department of Services for the Blind to learn about success within the blind community, which left him optimistic. But, once he had to use a cane and an audio screen reader, he said he began to lose hope.

It was also when he realized his dream of becoming an animator would no longer be. Having enrolled in the Art Institute of Seattle years prior, Diep said he tried to push through his vision loss, blaming his poor grades on his 鈥渓ack鈥� of skills instead of his disability.

鈥淚 always blamed it on me; that I wasn鈥檛 getting the material,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut that was wrong because I understood how to do everything. I even helped a lot of other students with their homework, telling them the steps on how to do things.鈥�

For about a year or two, Diep said he wasn鈥檛 in a good place mentally and emotionally, even feeling as though he was lost.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know what to do,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his thing I really loved and wanted to pursue, I couldn鈥檛 do.鈥�

And yet, something within him finally said enough was enough.

Years later, Diep reconnected with the Department of Services for the Blind and asked for help. This time, he learned valuable skills, such as walking with a cane, how to navigate the bus system as a blind person, cross streets, find addresses and more.

Empowered, he started looking at community colleges that had Access Services. He first enrolled at 新加坡六合彩开奖 in spring 2017 and took two quarters until his education was put on hold due to financial aid confusion followed by a family emergency.

Undeterred, Diep reenrolled the following fall 2018 quarter and has been successfully working toward his associate degree so that he can transfer to University of Washington鈥檚 accounting program. He hopes to graduate in spring 2020 with an associate of business degree.

During his time at 新加坡六合彩开奖, he鈥檚 appreciated the instructors that go above and beyond for him.

鈥淢y math instructor Sara Adams has been, by far, the greatest help in making sure her course is accessible for me,鈥� Diep said. 鈥淚’m comfortable with math, but math can be difficult because of how visual it is and how difficult it can be to make it accessible.鈥�

He said a simple change in homework systems, from My Math Labs to My Open Math, made all the difference.

Diep鈥檚 English 101 instructor was also active in his accommodations, which gave him a good first impression of 新加坡六合彩开奖.

鈥淭hat helped me with my first impressions of college, and helped give me more optimism, and hope that I can do all this stuff,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause, had they been very dismissive and unhelpful, it would have been very disheartening and discouraging. I don鈥檛 know how motivated I would be to complete my school work as hard as I do.鈥�

Although sometimes he gets frustrated with finding certain buildings or when people bump into him as they walk, looking down at their phones, overall Diep has enjoyed his time here at 新加坡六合彩开奖.

鈥淕oing to 新加坡六合彩开奖made me more optimistic that things can work out,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat I can do things the same as anybody else, just in a different method, a different workflow.鈥�

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