Thoughtful Classmates Create A Braille Copy Of The Yearbook For Blind Teen

A lot of schools still have a lot to learn about inclusivity, and this institution is one step closer to the goal.

Saying Goodbye

One of the hardest but most exciting parts of being a high school student is graduating. It can be frightening to step out of your comfort zone and venture into being a young adult, but it can also be exciting to enter a brand new season of life.

A Souvenir

One of the things graduating students look forward to aside from the momentous graduation rites is the yearbook that contains lots of memories everyone has made within the school in the past years.

Meet RJ

RJ Sampson is one of the seniors from Conifer High School who might not be as excited about the school’s yearbook because he might not be able to enjoy it as much as the others because of his blindness.

A Special Request

RJ once jokingly asked the yearbook editor if she would make a braille copy for him, but little did he know that they will all make his request come true.

An Extra Mile

His classmates went above and beyond and spent about 1500 hours creating a braille copy of their yearbook. Not only that, but they also developed an app for him that would queue up audio recordings of the text.

The Big Day

RJ’s classmates were able to give the yearbook to him at an end-of-year “senior send-off” assembly. Laurel Ainsworth, the editor-in-chief, presented the yearbook to him in front of the whole school.

His Reaction

RJ couldn’t stop smiling as he was handed his copy of the yearbook and everyone was cheering for him. He said, “It’s absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to actually read it… It really means a lot to me. The community here is really so loving.”

A New Chapter

The teen is now onto a new chapter of his life as a college student studying computer science at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Watch RJ’s precious reaction to his classmates’ surprise in the video below.

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