Growing up in a small town in South Lebanon, Pennsylvania, I’ve experienced both the good and bad aspects of a close-knit community. Throughout my life, I’ve been lifted up and torn down, largely because of the people around me and their attitudes toward my genetic and visual impairment. These experiences have shaped my perspective, values, and future career. One positive aspect of living in a small town is the strong sense of support and encouragement. My community has fostered my creativity and dreams, as we look out for each other and uplift one another’s passions. I’ve always appreciated how people rally around each other, offering unwavering encouragement. However, the closeness that creates a supportive community can become stifling. Privacy is almost nonexistent in a small town, and gossip spreads quickly. People can be unkind, and destructive rumors often circulate. Over time, I’ve learned to see through lies and refuse to tolerate cruelty. These experiences have instilled a deep appreciation for honesty and integrity. So, I've little patience for deception and drama and I’m intentional about the friendships I form. I surround myself with people who value truth and kindness, and distance myself from those who thrive on negativity. Despite some of the challenges, growing up in this environment has broadened my understanding of different perspectives. I have developed an appreciation for people from diverse backgrounds and am eager to learn more about various ethnic groups. I want to expand my knowledge and foster greater empathy and understanding. I firmly believe that people seen as "weird" are often just misunderstood and in need of a listening ear. Even if I cannot fully relate to another person’s experiences, I strive to be a compassionate listener and provide support. Because of my visual impairment, I've firsthand experience with being judged for my differences. People often make assumptions about my abilities without taking the time to understand my perspective. It hasn’t always been a negative experience, but it has made me aware of how others with disabilities are treated. I want to ensure that people receive the same respect and consideration that I hope for myself. Living in a small town comes with certain disadvantages, especially when it comes to resources for people with disabilities. Growing up, I struggled to receive the accommodations I needed because people didn’t fully understand my condition. Many assumed I was seeking attention because I have some vision. failing to recognize that I couldn’t see the board in class, catch something thrown at me, or recognize someone approaching me. For years, I had to fight for accommodation. Only recently have I been able to request accommodations without having to justify my need. This experience has strengthened my independence and self-advocacy, and now I want to extend that advocacy to others in similar situations. I’m deeply committed to educating people about disabilities and fostering a more inclusive community. This passion has led me to pursue a career in special education, with a specialization in teaching the visually impaired. My goal is to return to my community and help improve its understanding of people with different needs and abilities. I want to be a voice for those who may not yet have one and ensure that future generations receive the support they deserve. By becoming a special education teacher, I hope to bridge the gap between ignorance and awareness, making my community a more accepting and understanding place. No one should have to struggle for years just to be heard, and I’m determined to be part of the change that ensures every student—regardless of their abilities—has an equal opportunity to succeed.

Hello, my name is Rabecca Zintak, and I am pursuing a career in special education to become a Teacher for the Visually Impaired (TVI). I was diagnosed with Bardet-Biedl Syndrome 1 (BBS1), which has led to my visual impairment. While I may seem like any other high schooler, I am legally blind, with a corrected vision of 20/200. Since I attend a private school, I never had the benefit of a TVI. Through trial and error, my family and I worked to implement the necessary support for my education. This experience opened my eyes to the critical need for educators in this specialized field, inspiring me to be part of the solution. I believe education should ignite a love for learning and equip students with skills to grow beyond the classroom. A teacher’s role is to encourage students to discover subjects or passions that excite them. Educators should foster both personal and academic growth while helping students develop confidence. My own schooling experience has shown me the importance of having someone—a teacher, parent, or mentor—who believes in a student’s potential and helps them reach it. Effective teaching strategies include digitized assignments for organization and deadline tracking, as well as a mix of visual and auditory learning. I also value flexibility in choosing between creative, tactile projects and written assignments, allowing students to play to their strengths. I appreciate how my teachers accommodate different learning needs to ensure every student succeeds. As a teacher, I will adapt to various learning styles, provide diverse project options, and ensure that students who need extra support have access to alternative resources. My passion is helping children receive accommodations they need to succeed in school and life. As a TVI, this will be a key part of my job, but it is also a personal mission. I want to support students with visual impairments as they navigate academic and personal challenges. My goal is to be more than just a teacher—I want to be a mentor, advocate, and source of encouragement. I am committed to providing students with the tools they need to succeed, even if that means going the extra mile, such as purchasing materials out of pocket. I also aim to foster friendships and open communication among students to create a strong sense of community. My commitment to this field stems from my experience of not having a teacher who fully understood my needs. While my teachers did their best, they lacked the specialized knowledge to prepare me for life with a visual impairment. I am determined to change that for future students. I want to provide them with academic instruction and essential life skills. I am committed to continuously learning new techniques and strategies so I can share them with students who may benefit. Additionally, I aim to expand my knowledge to support individuals with various disabilities to help as many students as possible. This journey is deeply personal to me, and I am eager to make a lasting impact as a TVI. Through education, advocacy, and support, I hope to empower students to reach their full potential, just as I have worked to overcome my own challenges.

Hello, my name is Rabecca Zintak. I am pursuing a career in special education to become a teacher for the visually impaired (TVI). I was diagnosed with a genetic mutation called Bardet Biedl Syndrome 1 (BBS1), which has caused me to have a visual impairment, amongst other things. Looking at my day-to-day life, I’d seem like any other high schooler. However, my reality is that I’m considered legally blind with a corrected vision of 20/200. I go to a private school; therefore, I never had the advantage of a TVI. Through a lot of guesswork and experimentation, we implemented the necessary groundwork to further my educational advancement and offset my impairment. I have always known that I wanted to provide aid to those suffering from vision loss as my career. However, while researching, I found that a lot of these jobs require that I have better sight than what I currently do. Then one day I met a woman named Karley, who is a TVI, and she informed me that I was a great fit for this job. She said not in spite of my visual impairment, but because of my visual impairment, I would have greater understanding towards others. I would be able to use my experiences to help those struggling and inform others who don’t know or understand what the students need. I want to make sure that kids and teens can have what I never did. I want to give students the proper tools and guidance to not only survive in school but thrive in school. Personally, I have always liked school, but I've been fortunate to have a lot of teachers to show me what to do and what not to do. So now I would like to be that person for others. I’ve spent time around people with disabilities all over the spectrum, both visually, and mentally. I've come to realize that I have this drive to learn and help these people in any way I can. Whether that comes in the form of helping them to get equipment that makes their lives easier or listening and connecting to them regarding their struggles. Additionally, I have some experience working with kids from 1st to 5th grade in children's ministry at our church. I enjoyed helping with the kids at our church as a teacher's aide and was told by a couple of the teachers that I did a good job at leading activities and taking charge. I had the opportunity to teach a lesson or two when a teacher would suddenly get sick and not be able to make it; so, this showed me how to follow a curriculum while quickly adapting to a new situation. To briefly sum up the reason why I want to be a teacher of the visionally impaired is to level the playing field for children of all ages and give them a chance to do anything that someone with no physical or mental disabilities can do.

Hello, my name is Rabecca Zintak. I’ve been attending New Covenant Christian School for my entire academic life. I’m presently employed as a physical therapy technician at a clinic where my duties include cleaning, laundry, and preparing supplies for our clients and therapists. I love the theater and have been performing in shows since the 5th grade. I’ve been living with a visual impairment for many years and learning to adapt as I grow and face new challenges. My family always thought I was somewhat of a clumsy child, and at times it was true, but as a got older they noticed I was having difficulty reading things at a distance. So, like responsible parents, they took me to an eye doctor who told us that I was malingering. My parents knew that the diagnosis couldn’t be right, so we tried another eye doctor. We went to seven different eye doctors over the span of five years, and they all said I was making it up. We were finally directed to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where I was diagnosed with a rare genetic mutation, Bardet Biedl Syndrome 1 (BBS1). BBS1 mainly targets the eyes, specifically my retinas, if you looked at my day-to-day life, I’d seem like any other high schooler. My reality is that I’m considered legally blind with a corrected vision of 20/200, However, because of this impairment I have been blessed to learn so many things and meet so many people that I otherwise wouldn’t have interacted with. Ever since I was diagnosed with my visual impairment, I have known that I wanted to provide aid to those suffering from vision loss as my career. However, while researching I found that a lot of these jobs require that I have better sight than what I currently do. Then one day I met a woman named Karley, who is a teacher for the visionally impaired (TVI), and she informed me that I was a great fit for this job. She said, “not in spite of my visual impairment, but because of my visual impairment”, I would have greater empathic understanding towards others. My impairment would enable me to use my experiences to help those struggling and inform others who don’t know or understand what the students need. I want to make sure that kids and teens can have the support I never did. It’s important to me that students have the proper tools and guidance to not only survive in school but thrive in school. In summation, it has been quite a journey finding out about my visual impairment and figuring out how that factor into my life. Now I see that I want to aid those who need help, but don’t know where to start; making sure that students can achieve anything they set their mind to.

Hello, my name is Rabecca Zintak. I’ve been attending New Covenant Christian School for my entire academic life. I’m presently employed as a physical therapy technician at a clinic where my duties include cleaning, laundry, and preparing supplies for our clients and therapists. I love the theater and have been performing in shows since the 5th grade. I’ve been living with a visual impairment for many years and learning to adapt as I grow and face new challenges. My family always thought I was somewhat of a clumsy child, and at times it was true, but as a got older they noticed I was having difficulty reading things at a distance. So, like responsible parents, they took me to an eye doctor who told us that I was malingering. My parents knew that the diagnosis couldn’t be right, so we tried another eye doctor. We went to seven different eye doctors over the span of five years, and they all said I was making it up. We were finally directed to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where I was diagnosed with a rare genetic mutation, Bardet Biedl Syndrome 1 (BBS1). BBS1 mainly targets the eyes, specifically my retinas, if you looked at my day-to-day life, I’d seem like any other high schooler. My reality is that I’m considered legally blind with a corrected vision of 20/200, However, because of this impairment I have been blessed to learn so many things and meet so many people that I otherwise wouldn’t have interacted with. Ever since I was diagnosed with my visual impairment, I have known that I wanted to provide aid to those suffering from vision loss as my career. However, while researching I found that a lot of these jobs require that I have better sight than what I currently do. Then one day I met a woman named Karley, who is a teacher for the visionally impaired (TVI), and she informed me that I was a great fit for this job. She said, “not in spite of my visual impairment, but because of my visual impairment”, I would have greater empathic understanding towards others. My impairment would enable me to use my experiences to help those struggling and inform others who don’t know or understand what the students need. I want to make sure that kids and teens can have the support I never did. It’s important to me that students have the proper tools and guidance to not only survive in school but thrive in school. This scholarship would afford me the opportunity to live on campus at the university I plan to attend. My visual impairment prevents me from obtaining a driver’s license, so commuting isn’t an option. This makes it necessary to live on campus, because I don’t have any family in the area. Additionally, it would help towards the expense of books and materials needed for college. This scholarship would also enable me to start taking the necessary courses to further my goal of helping others like me get the help they need to succeed in school. In summation, it has been quite a journey finding out about my visual impairment and figuring out how that factor into my life. Now I see that I want to aid those who need help, but don’t know where to start; making sure that students can achieve anything they set their mind to.

Hello, my name is Rabecca Zintak. I am pursuing a career in special education to become a teacher for the visually impaired (TVI). I was diagnosed with a genetic mutation called Bardet Biedl Syndrome 1 (BBS1), which has caused me to have a visual impairment amongst other things. Looking at my day-to-day life I’d seem like any other high schooler. However, my reality is that I’m considered legally blind with a corrected vision of 20/200. I go to a private school; therefore, I never had the advantage of a TVI. Through a lot of guesswork and experimentation we implemented the necessary groundwork to further my educational advancement to offset my impairment. I have always known that I wanted to provide aid to those suffering from vision loss as my career. However, while researching I found that a lot of these jobs require that I have better sight than what I currently do. Then one day I met a woman named Karley, who is a TVI, and she informed me that I was a great fit for this job. She said not in spite of my visual impairment, but because of my visual impairment, I would have greater understanding towards others. I would be able to use my experiences to help those struggling and inform others who don’t know or understand what the students need. I want to make sure that kids and teens can have what I never did. I want to give students the proper tools and guidance to not only survive in school but thrive in school. Personally, I have always liked school, but I've been fortunate to have a lot of teachers to show me what to do and what not to do. So now I would like to be that person for others. I’ve spent time around people with disabilities all over the spectrum visually, and mentally. I've come to realize that I have this drive to learn and help these people in any way I can. Whether that comes in the form of helping them to get equipment that makes their lives easier or listening and connecting to them regarding their struggles. Additionally, I have some experience working with kids from 1st to 5th grade in children's ministry at our church. I enjoyed helping with the kids at our church as a teacher's aide and was told by a couple of the teachers that I did a good job at leading activities and taking charge. I had the opportunity to teach a lesson or two when a teacher would suddenly get sick and not be able to make it; so, this showed me how to follow a curriculum while quickly adapting to a new situation. To briefly sum up the reason why I want to be teacher of the visionally impaired is to level the playing field for children of all ages and give them a chance to do anything that someone with no physical or mental disabilities can do.

Hello, my name is Rabecca Zintak. I am pursuing a career in special education to become a teacher for the visually impaired (TVI). I was diagnosed with a genetic mutation called Bardet Biedl Syndrome 1 (BBS1), which has caused me to have a visual impairment amongst other things. Looking at my day-to-day life I’d seem like any other high schooler. However, my reality is that I’m considered legally blind with a corrected vision of 20/200. I go to a private school; therefore, I never had the advantage of a TVI. Through a lot of guesswork and experimentation we implemented the necessary groundwork to further my educational advancement to offset my impairment. I have always known that I wanted to provide aid to those suffering from vision loss as my career. However, while researching I found that a lot of these jobs require that I have better sight than what I currently do. Then one day I met a woman named Karley, who is a TVI, and she informed me that I was a great fit for this job. She said not in spite of my visual impairment, but because of my visual impairment, I would have greater understanding towards others. I would be able to use my experiences to help those struggling and inform others who don’t know or understand what the students need. I want to make sure that kids and teens can have what I never did. I want to give students the proper tools and guidance to not only survive in school but thrive in school. Personally, I have always liked school, but I've been fortunate to have a lot of teachers to show me what to do and what not to do. So now I would like to be that person for others. I’ve spent time around people with disabilities all over the spectrum visually, and mentally. I've come to realize that I have this drive to learn and help these people in any way I can. Whether that comes in the form of helping them to get equipment that makes their lives easier or listening and connecting to them regarding their struggles. Additionally, I have some experience working with kids from 1st to 5th grade in children's ministry at our church. I enjoyed helping with the kids at our church as a teacher's aide and was told by a couple of the teachers that I did a good job at leading activities and taking charge. I had the opportunity to teach a lesson or two when a teacher would suddenly get sick and not be able to make it; so, this showed me how to follow a curriculum while quickly adapting to a new situation. To briefly sum up the reason why I want to be teacher of the visionally impaired is to level the playing field for children of all ages and give them a chance to do anything that someone with no physical or mental disabilities can do.