Earlier this spring, Council Scholarship recipient Jasmine Bertschy of Valders reached a big milestone in her educational career, earning her associate degree at UW-Whitewater’s Rock County campus. Her efforts were so successful that she was named the student speaker at her commencement ceremony. “I was sitting at work when I got the email that said ‘You’ve Been Selected!’” Jasmine says. “I never thought in a million years that I would have that honor. Thankfully, I was able to use my braille display to read my speech, because there were a couple hundred people there.”
Jasmine is not quite finished with schooling, however. She is using her third Council Scholarship to continue on her path toward becoming a therapist.
Jasmine is now enrolled at UW-Whitewater’ main campus, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. The larger campus is a bit nerve-wracking, she says, but she feels she has good support on campus. “Because I attended a branch campus before, I get to keep working with the same disability coordinator,” Jasmine says. “I have a program set up to have a driver drop me off and pick me up right in front of the building I need to go to for class.”
In addition to being a full-time student and working a part-time job, Jasmine lives independently in Beloit, which makes for a somewhat lengthy commute. It takes a lot of hard work to juggle everything while keeping her finances in order, but she says it shows how she is able to persevere. “I’ve gotten good at making a budget!” Jasmine says. “I am able to multitask to make sure I’m balancing my school and home life.”
Jasmine lost part of her vision after a traumatic brain injury in 2018, which she says put her into a deep depression. Her goal of becoming a pediatrician felt out of reach. Instead of giving up, she decided to pursue a mental health field instead. Today, she is well on her way to that goal and is already putting her new associate degree to good use. “I’ve been looking at jobs that will get me hands-on experience in my field,” Jasmine says. “It can be difficult to also work around my school schedule, but I really want to find something that will help me reach my end goal of becoming a therapist.”
Jasmine is using her Council scholarship to help pay for tuition. She says she’s grateful to have the Council behind her. “The Council has backed every year of my college journey so far,” Jasmine says. “It brings me such joy that there’s an organization that’s supporting blind and low vision students through their education journeys.”
The Council has been awarding scholarships to postsecondary students who are blind or low vision for most of its history. You can find more information about our scholarship program at WCBlind.org/Events/Scholarships.