[NFBOH-Cleveland] Braille Monitor April 2023: Growing My Federation Heart Started with a Scholarship, by Kinshuk Tella

[Suzanne Turner]

Growing My Federation Heart Started with a Scholarship

 

by Kinshuk Tella

 

Kinshuk Tella

>From the Editor: This article is gratefully reprinted from The Voice of the
Nation's Blind, Monday, March 7, 2022. As you can tell from the title, the

author is a winner of a national scholarship, but there is so much more that
he reveals. If I had to describe this contribution in one word, that word

would be wisdom. Enjoy:

 

For me, every day is Earth Day. Nature always fascinated me. It began with
catching insects in my backyard as a child and constructing miniature
rainforests

in glass terrariums. It has now led me to conducting research in the field
of environmental geology at Miami University.

 

When I was growing up, I learned about the environmental issues we face
today: deforestation leading to the extinction of species, melting glaciers
leading

to the decimation of our freshwater supplies, just to name a few. I am
driven to develop and apply science-based solutions for these environmental
problems

and more. This drive is why I am on track to graduate with my Bachelor of
Science degree in geology and environmental science in the spring of 2023,
with

an additional master's degree in environmental science, focused on policy
analysis. It is what takes me this summer to an internship in the Silicon
Valley

of northern California, to ensure environmental compliance for Tesla, the
world's largest electric vehicle company. Above all, it is why I'm
dedicating

my life to fighting climate change, personally and professionally, for
decades to come.

 

I didn't always have the confidence to pursue these dreams. Growing up in an
average suburban town in southwest Ohio, I lacked the positive blind role

models that I did not know I needed. Being raised in a traditional South
Asian household, my blindness was seen as a shameful disease to be cured. My
own

parents unintentionally gave me vitamin A toxicity from the gallons of
carrot juice I was force-fed as a child. I internalized this mindset of
shame, sitting

in the back of the classroom to look like I was sighted, handwriting notes I
could never actually read.

 

This mindset only changed when I found passions worth self-advocating for. I
joined the marching band in seventh grade and built confidence by finding

pride in the hours of hard work that I put into shows and concert
performances. This coincided with my entry into the natural sciences. I took
advanced

placement classes in related fields, and finally I was able to put a career
choice to what I have always enjoyed. But despite these passions, I still
was

missing a community.

 

Upon getting involved with the National Federation of the Blind, I went from
lacking role models to having a community full of successful people who were

breaking down the barriers they faced. My love for advocacy has led me to
get involved in leadership in disability spaces at every level. I serve on
the

board for the National Association of Blind Students (NABS), the National
Federation of the Blind of Ohio, and the Miami Valley Chapter. I co-founded
Prism

Marching Arts, the first all-inclusive special needs marching arts program
in the Midwest. We put instruments in the hands of people who otherwise
never

would have been given such opportunities in their communities. In these ways
I pay forward the opportunities that I have received, to everyone, no matter

who they are and where they come from.

 

The National Federation of the Blind's Scholarship Programs, at both the
state and national level, were the vessels that brought me into this
community.

This program showed me that I was not alone, that there were thousands of
other blind people pursuing their dreams and redefining what it means to be
blind.

At first I simply viewed this program as a monetary award for my educational
pursuits. But oftentimes the best experiences come as surprises. I quickly

realized that the scholarship program offered much more than that
scholarship; it offered invaluable mentorship, engaging community, and
surplus fuel for

my growing Federation heart. Blindness is the characteristic that brings us
together, brings us to fight for our rights, and brings us to make the world

an equitable place. I truly believe that programs like the National
Federation of the Blind's Scholarship Program help mold these
characteristics and experiences

into a vessel for collective action and self-growth.

 

For me personally, I can say with certainty that the NFB Scholarship Program
has been a catalyst for allowing me to gain the confidence to pursue my
dreams,

to take my career in the direction that I desire, and more.

 

If there is one lesson that I have learned, it is that we all live
internally in different worlds, but at the same time we live physically in
the same

world. Our perspectives differ, but our resources and actions affect us the
same. We live in an era in which the Earth and its systems are at a critical

point, a point where climate change is arguably the greatest issue we face.
This is why I dedicate my studies and future work to the environmental
issues

humanity faces today. I hope to work for the betterment of tomorrow and to
make a world we can call our own.

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