2009-2010 Fellows: Bobbie Fletcher

bobbie_fletcher.jpgI graduated from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland in 2001 with a BA in English. I was in my early 30s and attended as a Broadbeck Scholar – a program for women returning to college. I had always wanted to be a special education teacher and resigned myself that eventually I would return to school for my Masters Degree. The next four years brought to me a marriage, three children, and a move back to my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama.

Dear friends of mine gave birth to their daughter in 2006 who is blind. It was at this time that I began considering the Visual Impairments Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. From the start, I knew that I had found my niche. After a Summer Learning Block spent in Talladega, Alabama, I knew that my interest was in the area of deaf-blind. The Alabama Institute of the Blind, the Helen Keller School, and the Alabama Schools for the Blind and for the Deaf were enlightening venues for summer learning. I came home with a new plan for my life and have never looked back.

I am a single mom of three beautiful children. My eldest is six and my youngest is three. We stay very busy, but my education remains a constant focus. I am excited to begin new employment within my department at UAB where I will be working on the Alabama Deaf-Blind Project. I will continue to work for Mattel/Fisher Price as a retail service representative when not at UAB. I am very involved in my church, Shades Valley Presbyterian, where I am the nursery coordinator and teach the occasional Sunday school class and have directed Vacation Bible School for many years.

My favorite education quote:  “If a child cannot learn the way we teach, we must teach them the way that they can learn”.