CAHS senior Joel Gomez was one of 30 students in the US who received a scholarship from The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the nation’s leading advocate for equal education of the blind. Joel was born with a genetic vision disorder called Blue Cone Monochromacy that leaves him legally blind and severely colorblind. Even with this obstacle, he has represented Team USA Paralympic Track & Field on the world stage, winning multiple medals at the junior Para World Athletics Championship held in Nottwil, Switzerland, and the Para Pan American Games held in Lima, Peru. He is looking forward to hopefully competing at the Tokyo Paralympics this summer.

“The scholarship program is one of our most important initiatives, and these blind students are facing and overcoming many barriers and challenges due to the pandemic and its impact on higher education,” said Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind.

Joel plans to attend Purdue University in the fall, majoring in Industrial Engineering Technology. He is extremely honored to have been awarded the Lighthouse Guild Scholarship and be selected as a National Federation of the Blind scholarship finalist.

For more information about the National Federation of the Blind scholarship program, visit nfb.org/scholarships.