Later, driving home, Nick struggled to see whether traffic lights were red or green. “Maybe I do need glasses,” he thought. It was the last time Nick would drive his car, the last day he would attend school as a sighted person.

Diagnosed with a rare genetic condition known as Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy, Nick spent the next two years learning how to remain independent. He learned to use adaptive computer equipment to access e-mail and the Internet, how to take care of household chores, how to read braille, and, in 1998, he began working with Guthrie, his Guide Dog. During this time, one thought was constantly in his mind — returning to his studies at Pace. “I longed to push my way through the clouds to the light of knowledge that awaited me,” he says.

In 1999, Nick returned to Pace with Guthrie and the confidence to succeed. “It was a rebirth for me,” he says. He plunged wholeheartedly into his studies, sometimes staying awake long into the night listening to recorded textbooks. Introduced to RFB&D by a rehab counselor, Nick credits RFB&D’s accessible library with maintaining his independence and saving him the hundreds of hours he would have spent with live readers. He finds RFB&D’s recorded books especially helpful when writing research papers that require close analysis This year, he graduated Pace with a 3.76 QPA (Quality Point Average). “RFB&D helps me compete with other students and achieve high honors,” he says. Some of the time gained is devoted to Nick’s other passion – baseball. Nick plays “beep” baseball (an adapted version of the game for people with disabilities) with the Long Island Bombers, often taking on sighted teams and playing for area fundraising events.

Selected by audition as the student commencement speaker for his graduating class, Nick prides himself on his public speaking abilities. He is a member of the Pforzheimer Honors College, Alpha Chi National Honor Society, Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society and the Golden Key Honor Society. He is a fellow of Pace’s Dyson College of Arts and Sciences. With the goal of becoming a teacher, Nick will study for his master’s degree in English literature at Lehman College — and slug for the Long Island Bombers during the summer.

When Rachel Leipnitz, a teacher of special
education for seventh and eighth graders
at Crane Middle School in Yuma, AZ, was recently nominated for the Rotary Club’s Teacher of the Year Award, she was deeply honored. “I can’t describe how amazing that felt, knowing my peers recognized me as a good teacher who cares about her students,” she said.

Then, noting that at one point she could not even read or write, she added, “Without RFB&D I never would have finished college, never would have received this nomination for Teacher of the Year.”

In third grade, Rachel was diagnosed with learning disabilities, including dyslexia, and placed in a “special education” classroom. There were no provisions made for the fact that she was an auditory learner. By sixth grade, she was still unable to read or write. Through the dedicated help of her mother and the devoted teachers she studied with in middle school, Rachel finally did learn. It was a slow process, however, and her comprehension was severely limited. Yet, her mother could always see her potential and encouraged her to apply to college.

At the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Rachel’s dream was to become a teacher. However, her grades were not high enough to get her into the program. It was at this time that Beth Hicks, the director of services for students with disabilities, introduced her to recorded textbooks from RFB&D. The difference was extraordinary — Rachel went from below average grades to the honor roll, and onto the National Honor Society. “I wish I had found out about RFB&D when I was younger,” she says. Rachel graduated with a degree in sociology, and encouraged by the fact that she could finally excel at her studies, returned to school for a second degree and became a special education teacher.

Rachel is currently exploring the use of RFB&D materials in her classroom and is excited how easy digitally recorded books on CD are to use. “What I really want to do is to help children who are struggling today as I did years ago,” she says.

If you have an RFB&D success story of your own, please e-mail us about it (one page or less) at success@rfbd.org. By doing so, you grant us permission to possibly use this information in future publications. Please include your phone number, so we can call you for further information, if needed.

RFB&D works for them -- it can work for you or someone you know! For further information, please call RFB&D's national headquarters at 866- RFBD-585.