Sense of Direction

Temple sophomore Jeff Worthington experiences life from a different perspective than most other students.

He’s blind.

The thought of starting school in the fall, purchasing books and rushing between classes is enough to make any Temple student feel a bit anxious, but Worthington looked forward to these things as he began classes at Temple.

“I was actually excited to start college in the fall of 2000. And I was pleased to find the people at Temple are very helpful,” Worthington said.

Temple’s Disability Resources and Services, which provides him with books-on-tape, tutors, scribes and other services, is also helpful.

“I couldn’t have done so much academically without DRS,” he said.

Before Worthington began his first fall semester at Temple, he was guided across campus so he could become familiar with the area. A good memory and sense of direction help him find his way.

“I base almost everything around the Bell Tower,” Worthington said. I know the center of campus is the Bell Tower, so that means if I’m there and I have a class at Anderson, I know I won’t have to walk that far to get there.”

Worthington is a Spanish major. He plans to teach the language as a professor. His former teacher at Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, Pa. inspired this goal. Once he came to Temple, the Latin American Studies Semester program helped to reinforce his interest in the language and culture. Part of LASS was a trip to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico where Worthington had the opportunity to immerse himself in Latin American culture and practice his second tongue.

Campus life provides Worthington with a sense of freedom he didn’t have in high school. It does, however, come at a price: security. He feels tighter security is needed on campus, especially at night around the SEPTA station. Quite a few vagrants have approached him, including a female who propositioned him while he was walking to the station.

In his free time Worthington enjoys going to musicals, like Les Miserables and Evita, in Philadelphia and New York. He also enjoys movies.

“Just watch a part of a movie with your eyes closed,” Worthington said. You’ll notice you pay more attention to what’s being said and how it’s being said. You’ll probably end up figuring out the ending sooner than if you just paid attention to watching what’s going on.”

Worthington makes it a point to relax and enjoy life rather than being restricted by his lack of sight.

His advice to everyone: “People shouldn’t be afraid to ask someone blind if they would want to go to a movie.”

Kara Deniz can be reached at kdeniz@temle.edu and Caitlin Ryan can be reached at cryan002@temple.edu