Perceptions matter when it comes to understanding people's challenges: CNIB
When musicians want to be heard at The King's University in Edmonton, Jonathan Siieswerda is the sound guy who mixes it right.
"I'll plug everything in, set up the microphone stands, the piano and whatever, and then I'll go turn stuff on, then the band will come on and they'll practise, and I'll make sure that they sound good," Sieswerda, a student at the east Edmonton post-secondary school, told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday.
Sieswerda has been the audio/visual assistant at King's for a few years now and happens to be blind.
"I have no centre vision. I only have peripheral vision, so I have to look to the sides," said Sieswerda, who was born visually impaired, which "hasn't really changed" over his life.
"It's a part of me, and I think that I've come to accept it for the most part," he said. I find I can do pretty much almost everything, regardless of being visually impaired."
According to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, it's how others see people like Sieswerda -- applying stereotypes and preconceived ideas of what they can and can't do -- that continues to be a struggle.
At The King's University, he was given an opportunity because they focussed on something else.
"His abundance of knowledge in this area was very clear, so I had zero worries," Amanda Duenk, the university's spiritual growth coordinator, told CTV News Edmonton. "Just to see him in action and witness his ability to go above and beyond, i was very impressed."
While Sieswerda sometimes needs to bring things up close or off to the side to see what they are, it's not discouraging.
He says everyone struggles whether they have a noticeable disability or not. One thing he hopes many people can and will change are their perceptions.
"I think the challenges that we face shape us in a lot of ways," Sieswerda said. "They force us to push past what we normally think we could do."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Brandon Lynch and Craig Ellingson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW Pack the macaroni necklace: Lessons on evacuations from a woman who fled one of Canada's worst wildfires
Carol Christian had 15 minutes to evacuate her home during the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016. She ended up losing the house and everything inside. Now, she wants to share the lessons she learned.
NEW 'Ugly produce': One way Canadians are shrinking rising grocery bills
As the cost of food in Canada has risen, grocery shoppers are looking at ways to reduce their grocery bill, and more are choosing price over beauty, turning to companies that deliver so-called 'misfit' produce at a fraction of the cost.
Think twice before sharing 'heartbreaking' social media posts, RCMP warn
Mounties in B.C. are urging people to think twice before sharing "heartbreaking posts" on social media.
Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government a 'disgrace' on women's rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.
Miller scores late as Canucks grind out 3-2 win over Oilers in Game 5
J.T. Miller scored in the final minute of the game and the Vancouver Canucks came back for a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 5 of their second-round playoff series Thursday.
Father charged with second-degree murder in daughter's stabbing death
A father has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 34-year-old daughter in southern Quebec.
B.C. parents sentenced to 15 years for death of 6-year-old boy
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has sentenced the mother and stepfather of a six-year-old boy who died from blunt-force trauma in 2018 to 15 years in prison.
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
122 active wildfires burning across Canada, 32 considered 'out of control'
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.