Blind students at NNHS are not limited by their inability to see

By Features Editor Noelle Kirkman

Freshman Amy Bosko and junior Hannah Hakes are average teenage girls. Hakes loves watching classic shows like “Drake and Josh” and “Full House”, while Bosko is sure that one day she will marry Niall Horan from One Direction.

They’re involved in school, friendly, motivated, and talkative – just like the typical Huskie student. But Bosko and Hakes are more daring than the rest. They go through the school day just as every other student does – they just can’t see it.

Both Bosko and Hakes are blind.

“I’m just as normal, and I’m just as mature as [other students] are,” said Bosko. “I like stuff like they do; I’m obsessed with One Direction.”

Like her favorite band, Bosko loves to sing and act.  She has recently auditioned for the NNHS spring musical and has already debuted her acting career this past semester in both the freshman/sophomore play and the Children’s Show. The freshman/sophomore play, Our Teacher is an Alien, was especially memorable for Bosko.

“In the fall, I got a really big part and they let me go on stage by myself and they didn’t judge me when casting it, which most people do. They didn’t worry about like, ‘oh she can’t see, so she can’t be in the play.’  They still gave me a big part, which was really cool,” Bosko said.

Because it was Bosko’s first NNHS play, she had to become familiar with the North Performing Arts Center. Senior Amy Frazzini was the one who help her navigate the stage.

Today, Bosko and Frazzini are good friends.

“First impression you think, ‘how can a girl who is blind do theater?’ But in reality, she’s one of the best actresses at the school this year,” said Frazzini. “A lot of people underestimate what she can do, but she is absolutely amazing at it.”

To finish out her first year at NNHS, Bosko hopes to land a part in the musical and plans on trying out for the talent show to showcase her singing talents.

While Bosko has taken the spotlight on the stage, Hakes took the spotlight in the gym. Last semester, Hakes was enrolled in Leadership through Teambuilding for her gym class.

The class challenges enrolled students to step outside of their comfort zones. Hakes handled the challenging obstacles like trust falls, kayaking, rock climbing, and the high ropes course with complete courage and confidence.

“I learned that it’s really important to interact and communicate with people.  I found out that [the class] was really hard, but once I was taught to do all the activities it was really fun,” said Hakes.

Frazzini was a classmate of Hakes during her time in Leadership through Teambuilding.  She witnessed Hakes conquer the high ropes course without the help of an aid and climb to the top of a rock climbing wall at Vertical Endeavors.

“She literally blew everyone away. She has so much confidence,” said Frazzini. “It was awesome to see her do things that other students couldn’t even do.”

Hakes and Bosko both feel that they can accomplish so much at NNHS because of the support fellow students provide to them.

“When I first came to District 203 in 2008, I thought people would make fun of me for being blind, but that’s not true,” said Hakes. “No one has made fun of me in front of my face, which makes me really glad. I love everybody at NNHS, they’re so kind and loving.”

Though both girls feel they have found a place at NNHS, they both shared a similar desire for other students to understand their situation. They said they encouraged more people to not be afraid to acknowledge that they are blind and to treat them like any other student.

“They shouldn’t be afraid to ask me questions. Even weird questions. I’m really friendly, and I like giving advice,” said Hakes.