Testimonials
Nick: Cooking Class
Thank you so much for inviting me to attend the cooking class on Nov 14th. I had a wonderful timethere and got to learn how to make some excellent food! It was also a quite pleasant experience to be able to network with a few friends I hadn't seen in a while.
I understand the hard work and coordination it takes to put events like this on and it does not go unnoticed.
By the way, the food tasted excellent! Bruce and his wife were also great hosts who graciously welcomed us into their home and provided all the ingredients we would need.
It was nice to be able to learn from them! Please pass on my thanks!
Happy Holidays to you and everyone at Vista Center, you do a lot for the blind community and I sure do appreciate it!
Nick
Randy's Story
Randy Tamez became visually impaired from a rare form of brain tumor twenty years ago and has been a client of Vista Center for nineteen years. He has no vision in his left eye, and very little in his right eye, creating depth perception issues for him.
Randy is a 1998 graduate of San Jose State University, with a major in political science and minor in economics. In his spare time, he has fun shopping, reading books on tape, and surfing the internet. He is very independent.
Randy was the Community Transit Authority (CTA) chairman from 1993-2003, and continues to be involved with the group. We met with him at San Jose City Hall, where he was to work with Vista Center instructor Laura Michels, to orient himself to the location of the upcoming meeting where there would be an emergency evacuation drill. Laura would be instructing him with orientation and familiarization skills so that he could learn where the meeting would be held by talking and walking through the building several times. His new part-time job is as a Community Advocate for Silicon Valley Independent Living Center, part of a state-wide center. He ensures that local and state wide policies don’t become detrimental to persons with disabilities, and assists with making global system decisions and policies. He is also involved with voting rights issues.
We are proud to be part of Randy’s success story.
The short video below depicts Vista Center Clients describing their experiences. To start the video click on the triangle below the video screen.