Liam's Story - Essay earns visually impaired graduate spot at prestigious summer computer camp
Grade 12 student Liam Walsh has scored big, winning a trip to the Score 99 computer camp in Toronto July 11 to 24.
Walsh, who's visually impaired from albinism, wrote an essay on the future of information technology with regards to the visually impaired, which won him a trip to the camp.
His essay explored the idea of a global positioning system, like those on boats, to help the blind.
"These systems could help the blind with ear phone voice instructions and the system could be worn on belts," he said. "That way blind people could travel independently."
Walsh, from Edward Milne Community School, was thrilled to be going out east.
"It'll be great. It's a computer camp but they do all sorts of regular camp things as well," he said.
Administrative assistant Gillian Tuckey of the Toronto camp said two kids from every province are attending the camp. The camp is directed towards visually impaired, blind or deaf-blind, aged 16 to 18.
"They design web pages in teams of four. One page is thanking our sponsors, one is on the things they do at camp, one is the main page, and one is on accessing technology," she said. This is year 15 of the annual camp, which is sponsored by Wayne Gretzky. "Aside from making web pages, the youth will be swimming, horse-back riding, roller skating, go carting, and hanging around camp fires," Tuckey said.The campers will also take a trip to Canada's Wonderland, where they'll see a play, according to Tuckey.Walsh is not new to camping. He's been to Bowen Island to camp with other visually impaired youth with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind."I've went to that camp eight or nine times, but I've never been further than Alberta, so going to Toronto will be quite a change," Walsh said.Walsh said he's thinking about attending the W. Ross McDonald school for the blind in Ontario next year, so the trip in July will be a beneficial culture experience for him.Albinism, which caused Walsh's visual impairment, is the phenomenon that an organism lacks pigment, which is the colouring agent in cells. Walsh is legally blind, but he can see clearly that he will have great time at Score 99. |
"I'm really excited about going," he said. "I'm happy and thankful that I was accepted.">
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The entirely funded trip takes place in the IBM site in Toronto.
Reproduced with permission
courtesy of the
Sooke News Mirror