It was before her junior year at Bullard High School, and Shaela was in the back seat wearing her seat belt and eating Taco Bell food when a truck struck her car. In the accident, she was thrown upward into the roof. Her father arrived five minutes later, but ultimately, it took an hour for paramedics to find a way to best dislodge her while trying to keep her brain tissue as intact as possible.

Doctors were initially very concerned about her potential to recover cognitively and physically, but besides being completely blind, she has overcome most of the disabilities, and she is now able to walk around Fresno State campus with a guide dog (Lennox).

For high school, the transition to learning via a whole new method that summer was a challenge. A caring Spanish teacher came to her house the summer before her junior year to help her catch up in all her classes immediately after the accident.

That fall, she was the first completely blind student at Bullard High School. She was at a kindergarten-level in reading in Braille and initially had to rely on student assistants to take notes, which her dad would decipher for her at home. Through her hard work, she graduated on time with her class and was able to attend Fresno State, where her mom was a fashion merchandising alumna.

With the help of Services for Students with Disabilities, her professors, her friends, and most importantly, her family, Shaela has been working her way through college and will receive a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in child development this May.

"I encourage future teachers who may encounter students with visual impairments to find out the needs and accommodations of their students early on and to keep/maintain positive communication with them," she said.

"I have come to realize that despite this hardship (blindness), if I am eager to achieve something, I need to work to achieve it.... I can’t allow myself to stay at home and give up," she added.

For the fall semester, Shaela has been accepted to and enrolled at Alliant University in Fresno, where she would like to earn her master’s and doctorate. She hopes to be able to work with youth who are coming back from similar trauma, whether in a hospital or in private clinic/practice.

She currently speaks to middle and high schools to share her perspective and help others better understand and work with blind students and those with special needs.