Twelve-year-old Alex Ausel and her mother, Joey Ausel, came and toured the Center with Nate Kile just before this past Christmas. They spoke with him about the Passion Project she was starting for her sixth-grade project at Anchor Lutheran School.
Alex is fully sighted and had never met a blind person until she met Nate, who was helpful and kind in answering her questions. Alex developed an interest in blindness ever since reading about Helen Keller in fourth grade at age 9.
Alex learned Grade 1 Braille on her own last year as her chosen invention to study. Her goal this year was to learn Grade 2 Braille and then design, using AutoCAD and a 3D printer, ADA-compliant signs for her school.
She decided to make 11 different signs (Classroom, Library, Men’s Bathroom, Women’s Bathroom, Staff Only, Gym, Exit, Sanctuary, Kitchen, Elevator, and Office) and print a total of 54 of them for her school by the mid-April project deadline and presentation. She is nearly complete.
When touring the Alaska Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired building, she noticed that the Center needed some signs. She is designing and printing them for us.