As a school’s speech-language therapist, I am aware of the many hurdles some of my students must clear in order to function in a sometimes difficult world.

I recently had the pleasure of being present at the Beal College graduation on April 30.

My son’s girlfriend was graduating with a degree in travel and tourism. Also graduating with a double major in medical transcription and insurance billing encoding was a young man, age 23 and blind since birth.

His name is Scott Grindle. He graduated summa cum laude with a grade-point average of 3.94.

Pretty amazing, I thought.

Over the loudspeaker at the Etna-Dixmont School before the pledge, I informed the students of Grindle’s admirable feat, ending with: “If you are having a tough day or think life is hard, I want you to look at the picture and article on the wall of the gym of a student who proved that persistence pays off.”

Missing from a May 1 Bangor Daily News article was a picture of Splash, Grindle’s guide dog. I called the college to see if I could get in touch with Grindle to add the picture missing on the wall.

My students had lots of questions they wanted to ask Grindle, and as we talked he agreed to do an interview.

All of the following are questions written by pupils at the Etna-Dixmont School, with the exception of one written by an ed tech.

Fourth-grader Jeffrey Walker

Q: What caused your blindness?

Grindle: Retinopathy of Prematurity. I was three months premature and in an incubator at the hospital from Jan. 3, 1983, to June 20, 1983.

Sixth-grader Nick Eldredge:

Q: Was college easy?

A: No, it was mighty hard. I would never have been able to go to Beal College if it hadn’t moved to its new location. The old building had lots of stairs and I would have required sighted assistance. The new building is all on one floor.

Sixth-grader Courtney Marchelletta:

Q: What was the hardest part of going to college?

A: The study materials were not always easiest to use. The textbooks were on CDs. I had the JAWS program that reads CDs. The words are spoken aloud. The readings were often boring, like being read to by a grandfather, only in a monotonous voice. The CDs weren’t always compatible with the textbooks. Many could not describe the pictures very well unless there was writing around the pictures.

Q: What was the hardest part of growing up?

A: Being harassed and tormented. Because of my premature birth and blindness, I wasn’t as mature as others so I was often a target. Even staff where I went to school would make fun of me when I spilled food on myself, making cruel jokes and laughing.

Jen Ouellette, ed tech:

Q: What was your favorite part of college?

A: Being able to get snacks and drinks on my own, socializing with my friends, and hanging out.

Fifth-grader Zachary Mayer:

Q: What kind of dog do you have, and how does the dog get trained?

A: Splash is a yellow Labrador retriever. He’s a very light shade of yellow called dilute. At nine months of age he was taken from a kennel in Florida and given to a puppy raiser. He was taught basic house manners and obedience. At 18 months old, he went back to Florida and received his training to be a guide dog. That takes four months.

Finally I joined Splash in Florida and for four weeks we were trained to work together. When the training was complete, I got to take Splash home. Splash is a certified dog trained to aid people with anxiety or medical problems. When I am afraid of falling or lose my balance, Splash gets in front of me to protect me or leans against me so I regain my balance. He also guides me to where I need to go. I wouldn’t trade Splash for any other dog. He’s the best friend I ever had.

Seventh-grader Laura Craig:

Q: If you had three wishes, what would they be?

A: Well, that’s easy. My first one has been granted. I have Splash as a companion. My second wish would be to travel to Great Britain. However, it isn’t possible at this time as their travel restrictions limit this for me. Splash would require 20 minutes of testing in order to be allowed out of the country, and I couldn’t be without him for that long because I depend on him for balance.

Fifth-grader Patrick Underhill:

Q: Are Braille bumps words or letters?

A: They are like the alphabet. Each group of bumps stands for a letter with spaces between for the words. Sometimes they’re grouped separately, as in the case of contractions.

Sixth-grader Carol Ruest:

Q: How do you write?

A: The use of a computer is the most common way I write. Using the program called JAWS, I’m able to type on the keyboard. If a word is spelled wrong, JAWS will not only repeat the word back, but will also assist with spelling and grammar checking.

Fifth-grader Danielle George:

Q: How do you feel about being blind?

A: I don’t feel any different than a sighted person. I believe in a quote my friend Pat Perkins of the Blue Hill Consolidated School once told me: “You can do anything you set your mind to, anything a sighted person can do – all you need is a strategy.”