Blind student relishes essay contest victory

New Hampshire Union Leader, January 16, 2009
By Mark Ouellette

MERRIMACK - After learning her essay had won a seven-state contest, town resident Samantha Lylis, a student at Perkins School for the Blind, was overcome with joy.

Lylis' submission about "How Braille has Made an Impact on My Life" was the lone winner from a New Hampshire resident. She was at her grandmother's house when she got the news.

"I practically jumped out of my seat," she said. "I ran, threw my arms around my grandma and told her, and she was so happy."

"When I told my mom (in a telephone call), she was working, and I was like, 'Mom! Mom! Mom!' and all she could think at first was that me or my brother were hurt or that one of us had slipped on the ice. But when I told her I'd won, she thought it was great," Lylis added.

Lylis, 19, will graduate from Perkins next year. The school was chartered in 1829 as the country's first for the visually impaired. Among the school's notable graduates is Anne Sullivan Macy, who became the teacher and mentor of Helen Keller in the late 1880s.

About 26,000 students were welcome to enter the Perkins' Braille & Talking Book Library Essay Contest. Two dozen entries made it to the final judging. Lylis' was one of three winners. She, Timothy Vernon, 25, of Mansfield, Mass., and Kayla Bentas, 17, of Peabody, Mass., each received $100 cash prizes and certificates of appreciation.

They were honored Wednesday at the State House in Boston during the 200th anniversary celebration of the birth of Louis Braille, creator of the universal reading and writing system.

"I was on Cloud 9," said Lylis, formerly of Auburn. "It was fun. I got to hear lots of speakers, (including) Janet LaBreck from the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, and someone read a proclamation from (Massachusetts Gov.) Deval Patrick declaring January Braille Literacy Month."

Lylis said her impaired vision stems from an underdeveloped optic nerve. She said she can see only a little light. She lives at the Perkins campus, in Watertown, Mass., and participates in a variety of programs.

"It's been a lot of fun here, and I surely didn't anticipate playing sports," said Lylis, who is on the track and cheerleading squads and plans to start bowling.

Lylis said she has learned expanded Braille, how to use computers and Braille notetakers, basic cooking and foreign language Braille, among other things. Lylis' English teacher, Roz Rowley, said her student worked diligently on her essay.

"It's been great working with her," Rowley said. "She was very enthusiastic about doing it, and every time she would come to class, she would write a little more and polish it. All I did was help a little with the punctuation, but even that didn't need much work," said Rowley, who said Lylis is "a very fast learner."

In her essay, Lylis describes one of her first experiences using Braille, to read a children's book.

"Reading my first book ('Sleepy Dog') was very exhilarating," she wrote. "After I finished, I exclaimed 'Mommy, now I can read books by myself and tuck you into bed!' She laughed with joy and pride. This experience really changed my life." Click here to read the full text of Samantha's essay.

After learning French and Spanish Braille, "I felt a great sense of pride and relief that blind people in other countries could read and write Braille just like Americans," wrote Lylis. "I felt like I was literally traveling the world through books."

After graduation, Lylis plans to live at home and attend a college nearby. She hopes to study languages or Braille transcription.

You can also read Lylis' essay, at http://www.unionleader.com.

Copyright, 2009, Union Leader Corp. Reused with the permission of The Union Leader.