FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY GRADUATE HONORED AS 2005 NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNER BY RECORDING FOR THE BLIND & DYSLEXIC®
Dillon, SC, resident is recognized at national nonprofit's awards celebration in Washington, DC

February 10, 2006 (Washington, DC) - Jessica Smith of Dillon, SC, recalls how losing her sight "at the tender age of 14" and then having her mobility limited by multiple sclerosis posed serious challenges to her dreams of academic and professional success. However, the 25-year-old never gave up and graduated college. For that, and her extraordinary scholarship, leadership, enterprise and service to others, Smith was honored by Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D®) as one of three top winners of the 2005 Mary P. Oenslager Scholastic Achievement Awards (SAAs). RFB&D, a nonprofit organization, is the nation's educational library of recorded textbooks for students with visual impairment, dyslexia or other physical disabilities that make reading standard textbooks difficult or impossible.

Smith told the gathering in Washington, DC, "I am very grateful to RFB&D for providing audio textbooks for students, such as myself, with special needs. I honestly do not think I would have been able to perform on an equal footing with fellow classmates if I had been unable to receive my texts in an audio format."

After her vision began to fail at age 14 and total blindness set in two years later, doctors diagnosed the cause to be multiple sclerosis (MS). "The initial impact of this unexpected vision loss was detrimental to my academic performance because I could no longer see the print in my textbooks," said Smith. "I was unable to perform my assignments or study for my tests." Smith said she and her mother spent the next four years researching MS and learning first-hand "the devastating emotional and financial effect a chronic illness can have on a single-parent household." Smith eventually discovered RFB&D and that "accessing my textbooks in an alternative format enabled me to perform on an equal basis as other students," she said.

In addition to graduating in the top 7 percent of her class with a bachelor's degree in business administration from Francis Marion University, Smith interned at the Department of Defense and now works for the federal government's Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS). Smith intends to use her math talents to become a certified public accountant and aspires to become the Chief Financial Officer of a major corporation. Smith also gives back to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society by making annual donations and helping the organization raise money for research.

RFB&D's National Achievement Awards (NAA) include the SAA for college seniors who are blind or visually impaired and the Marion Huber Learning Through Listening® (LTL®) awards for high school seniors with learning disabilities. In all, RFB&D bestows more than $50,000 in awards to deserving students each year. Some of this year's winners are scheduled to meet with first lady Laura Bush at the White House later this month.

"RFB&D's National Achievement Awards recognize the accomplishments of students who are outstanding role models, not only for people with disabilities, but for all of us who endeavor to reach our full potential as students and as citizens," said John Kelly, RFB&D President & CEO.

RFB&D serves more than 141,000 students from kindergarten through graduate school and beyond, including 10,739 in the Virginias and Carolinas, with its one-of-a-kind collection of more than 109,000 educational titles on CD or four-track cassette. RFB&D's AudioPlus® digitally recorded textbooks on CD provide unprecedented navigation, ease of use and proven effectiveness as learning tools for students with print disabilities. Students rely on RFB&D's unique accommodation to access the printed page and to achieve educational success. All of RFB&D's accessible titles are recorded by volunteers working in 29 recording studios nationwide, including Charlottesville, VA.

EDITORS NOTE: Photos of the award winners at the event will be available at www.rfbd.smugmug.com on February 9 after 11:00 p.m. EST. Interview opportunities are available by calling Mark Zustovich at 609-520-7993, or after hours at 609-610-4508.