This year marks the ninth consecutive year that T-Base has contributed $2,000 in support of accessibility in education through the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC)/T-Base Scholarship Program. Two deserving students, who are blind or have low vision, have each been awarded $1,000 scholarships. The scholarships were awarded based on the following criteria: academic performance, community involvement and overcoming adversity.
Meet our 2020 recipients: Emilee Schevers & Taryn Zeger
We are thrilled to introduce this year’s recipients: Emilee Schevers and Taryn Zeger.
Emilee Schevers, from Peterborough, Ontario plans to attend Mohawk College in the fall to study Early Childhood Education. Her career goal is to become a kindergarten teacher. Emilee is an avid athlete who has earned many medals in curling, goalball and cycling. Together, Emilee and her sister started a social media campaign entitled Tru Faces. They created the campaign to spread awareness and to create a place where individuals living with disabilities feel comfortable sharing their stories and can meet others facing similar challenges. They share features on individuals with disabilities on their Instagram page, post educational YouTube videos and have been asked to speak at various events, including speeches at an elementary school and a summer camp. Emilee is also actively involved in her community, volunteering with Cuddles for Cancer and the TIMS (Time in My Shoes) program, which is part of the Peterborough Council for Persons with Disabilities.
Taryn Zeger, from Thornhill, Ontario plans to attend the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) in the fall to pursue her Master’s of Education in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Taryn has always been passionate about education and advocacy. To combat the bullying and exclusion she faced in public school, she made a point of educating her teachers and classmates on what it meant to grow up with her visual condition and how her differences do not define her. Taryn proactively created a slideshow for all her classmates so they could understand her unique needs and her similarities with them. After only a few days of reminding her classmates and teachers of acceptable terminology and accommodations, she began to feel more at home with those around her. In addition to being an accessibility advocate, Taryn has also dedicated her time to volunteering in her community. She has volunteered in adolescent, adult and geriatric mental health units at the Providence Care Hospital, and at Telephone Aid Line Kingston (TALK) – a registered Distress and Crisis Centre of Ontario. Taryn now works with the Canadian Mental Health Association as a Mental Health Coach in their Bounce Back program. This allows her explore her passion for psychology and build upon her previous experiences working with distressed individuals.
A message from T-Base’s Co-CEO
“As learning styles and format needs vary, access to alternate formats for students who are blind or have low vision is imperative for academic success,” said Bruce Moszcelt, T-Base’s Co-CEO. “Every year through this scholarship program, we enjoy helping ensure students who are blind or have low vision pursue an accessible education in their field of choice. On behalf of T-Base, we’d like to congratulate both Emilee Schevers and Taryn Zeger and wish them both continued success in their academic careers.”
Supporting accessible education across North America
We believe that students who are blind or have low vision should have the resources they need to succeed. That’s why at T-Base, we produce accessible textbooks and instructional materials in a variety of alternate formats including braille, reflowed large print, audio, accessible PDF and MathML. To learn more about our service offerings and how we support accessible education across North America, please visit our Education Overview page.
