Scarlet: Meaningful employment increases access to resources, services, opportunities. This then enables individuals with disabilities to live more independently. It provides equitable opportunities for achieving social, vocational and financial milestones. And that’s such an incredible feeling when you’re able to support yourself.

Welcome to the Heard & Empowered podcast presented by the National Industries for the Blind. You’re not just a listener here, you’re a catalyst for change. Whether you’re blind, visually impaired or an ally, this is your ultimate resource for building a fulfilling career and an enriching life. We’re on a mission to shift perceptions, open hearts and minds and unlock unparalleled job opportunities for the BVI community. Ready to be heard and empowered? Let’s welcome our host, Dr. Hoby Wedler.

Hoby: Hello and welcome back to the Heard & Empowered podcast. Today I have a very special guest and I am so excited to be chatting with Scarlet Nishimoto. Scarlet, welcome to the show.

Scarlet: Hi, yes, thank you for having me, Dr. Hoby.

Hoby: First of all, it’s an honor to have you on the show. Can you tell me your current place of work and very briefly what you do?

Scarlet: Yes, sure thing. So I work for a nonprofit organization in south central Pennsylvania called VisionCorps. They are a nonprofit organization run by persons with blind and visual impairments for persons with blind and visual impairments. They offer various services for young, young infants all the way up into adulthood and elderly adulthood. And they also mostly hire persons with blind and visual impairments as well and promote employment.

Hoby: That’s incredible. I love that. And one of the most exciting aspects for me of doing this show is really hearing the great stories of the men and women who work in these roles who happen to have blindness or visual impairments. So we’ll talk about that, but before we get into that I’d love to get to know you, the person behind the work that you do. So do you mind just taking a few minutes and just walking us through your background, your upbringing, and you said some really fun things about your father, and I’d love just to hear a little bit about your childhood, and growing up, and ultimately, kind of how you came to be at VisionCorps.

Scarlet: Yeah, sure thing. So I grew up… I was born with my visual impairment. I was born with bilateral cataracts in both eyes. I then had my lenses removed, so I’m now what’s called aphakic. I then later developed glaucoma in both eyes… and my father was born with the same condition, it is hereditary. And my younger sister was born with the same condition as well. My father’s vision is similar to mine, low vision, legally blind. And my sister is completely blind, no light perception.

And growing up, visual impairment was pretty normal in my family, I suppose, growing up that way because of the number of family members that I had. I then went to a residential school in Stanton, Virginia called the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind, that’s where I grew up. And I learned an educational program that was specifically designed to help persons with visual impairments become independent. I had a teacher that was completely blind and then I also went on to become an Office of Disability Services employee for James Madison University later on.

Hoby: Oh my gosh.

Scarlet: So my whole life I’ve been not only surrounded by persons with visual impairments who are accomplishing great things, but I decided I really wanted to be like them and help make the world a little bit more accessible, especially because I now have a daughter who is legally blind as well. And I want to make the world a little bit more accessible for her and give her the opportunities that maybe I didn’t have growing up, make it a little easier for her because that’s what we do, right? We take the world that we were given and that we grew up in and we make it a little bit better for the generation to come after us.

Hoby: That is absolutely wonderful. And that should be all of our goal, is to leave the world a better place than we arrived into it. And what it sounds like to me, you know, so I’m totally blind, congenitally totally blind with no light perception and my parents did not know anyone with blindness or visual impairments at all. They had one, my mom’s cousin’s husband happened to be blind and he was able to help a lot. But other than that, they really didn’t know anything about blindness. So they had to step right up and say, okay, we need to figure this out.

And luckily for me, they had extremely high expectations of me growing up. But it sounds like because your parents were no strangers at all to blindness or visual impairment, they had inherently high expectations and knew that your blindness was nothing detrimental or life changing, it was just kind of a nuisance, right?

Scarlet: Yeah.

Hoby: Sure. How old is your daughter?

Scarlet: Yeah, so my daughter actually just turned three on December 25th.

Hoby: Oh my gosh, she’s a Christmas baby. I love that. That’s awesome.

Scarlet: She is, yes.

Hoby: That is great. And boy, to have a mom like you able to show her what it’s like to have a visual impairment and that it’s okay is such an amazing thing. And this is what I tell people all the time about anything they might be dealing with, whether it’s blindness or other disabilities or health issues. It’s just like, look, it’s okay, we’re going to figure it out. We’re going to make it through this, you know, and just taking everything one step at a time. But having a role model like you and the fact that you had that role model from your father and can now pass that on to your daughter is a beautiful thing.

Scarlet: Thank you.

Hoby: You were an employee in the Department of Disability Resources at James Madison, essentially helping students gain access to class materials and that sort of thing?

Scarlet: Yes, so I did a little bit of everything when needed, but mostly I did the volunteer note taking program, which was students who may not be able to see the board or students who may have broken their hand or students who are unable to take a holistic approach to their own notes can have a volunteer in the class that’s completely anonymous help them take notes.

I also assisted with the accessible exam department. And so I not only proctored exams, but I made sure exams were presented in an accessible format for students, whether that be Braille, large print, digital, providing scribes for Scantrons, things like that is what I did. And that was part-time, yeah.

Hoby: Got it. And so rewarding, though, to be able to help students make their college experience and college education more accessible. I love that.

Scarlet: Yeah, absolutely. James Madison has a phenomenal accessibility program for their Department of Disability Services.

Hoby: Oh, that’s fantastic. No, that’s really cool. And when did you arrive at VisionCorps?

Scarlet: Yeah, so I arrived at VisionCorps because, like I said, my position at James Madison was part-time. And prior to VisionCorps I had only ever held part-time positions. I have a degree in social work. I have a plethora of employment experience.

I had phenomenal recommendations from every job I’ve ever held, and yet I applied to over 60 jobs and never heard back. A lot of them, the moment that I walked into the interview and they realized that I was vision impaired, it was pretty downhill from there regarding the interview process. Even though I tried to present myself as very confident. But there are those social stigmas that we often face when trying to find employment.

And a friend of mine reached out and was like, hey, I know you’re in Virginia and I live in Pennsylvania, but there’s this company – my friend’s also legally blind – he was like, who has provided me with services and they’ve helped me through a lot. And I thought they’re hiring right now and I thought that your experience with ODS would be perfect working for this position.

Hoby: Wow.

Scarlet: And so I applied and that was, like it’ll be four years in July and I’ve been working for them ever since.

Hoby: Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry to hear about the 60 positions you applied for and really getting turned down at each one, not because of you, but because of your visual impairment. I mean, I hear this so often from people, I’ve experienced it myself. And our disabilities should not be the thing that holds us back or that makes society not be excited about what we can do and what we can deliver to the world and give back.

And that’s what I love about these amazing agencies like VisionCorps and the 100 plus agencies just like VisionCorps. They are places where our disabilities aren’t just sort of reluctantly accommodated, but they’re celebrated and they’re what the companies are looking for, right? So blindness, and I think for us it’s such an interesting feeling when blindness, which seems like a real setback in terms of acquiring employment, I mean, it is because the unemployment rate hovers right around 70%, which is just astonishing.

But it’s amazing when we turn that light switch and blindness goes from being a disadvantage to a game-changing advantage where we have even a leg up on our sighted peers when applying for and ultimately working at agencies like VisionCorps.

Scarlet: Absolutely. And it’s something that I didn’t think about growing up because growing up I had so many examples of successful blind and visually impaired peers. And I went to a school for children who were blind and all my classmates were blind. I knew the social stigma existed, but it wasn’t really as impactful until I graduated and went out and tried to find a job and I was like, wait, this is how the world sees us.

Hoby: Oh my gosh.

Scarlet: That was a very big culture shock because that was not something I experienced growing up, surrounded by so many great role models. And then I was like, this is something I need to change. This is not okay. We need to change this societal stigma.

And that’s one of the reasons why I do love working for VisionCorps. I work in the CMS department, closing contracts for the US military, the DoD. And a lot of my peers, a lot of my co-workers, a lot of the employees of VisionCorps have then gone on to find federal employment afterwards because they got their foot in the door, they were able to prove themselves and show their experience. And now they’re out working for the federal government directly.

Hoby: Wow. So someone, for instance – By the way, CMS, I believe, is contract management services. Is that right?

Scarlet: Yes. Yes.

Hoby: And it’s just amazing to think about and so wonderful that sometimes agencies like VisionCorps are a stepping stone for people, I didn’t realize, that go out and then can get jobs right in the federal government easily. And they’re already qualified and the federal government already understands their skill sets. I just love that.

Scarlet: Yeah, absolutely. It’s crucial for building those stepping stones.

Hoby: Is that something you might be interested in one day, is taking a job with the federal government based on what you have learned from the work in contract management?

Scarlet: It’s not something I’ve given too much thought to, mostly just because what drives me in my specific position at VisionCorps isn’t really the closing of contracts. It’s needed, the CMS program with NIB has closed over $25 billion in deobligation. That is money that’s just sitting there, taxpayer money that’s sitting there not being used.

Hoby: Whoa.

Scarlet: And so we were able to save taxpayers $25 billion. That’s needed. That’s important. But finances aren’t exactly my personal passion.

What drives me in my job with VisionCorps is knowing that the work that I do and the money that the government pays VisionCorps for my services goes towards screening children for visual impairments. It goes towards helping children be able to afford glasses. It goes towards teaching braille instruction, orientation mobility, occupational training, vocational training. These are the things that VisionCorps provides services that are paid for through my work. And that’s really what drives me and what motivates me in my current position of employment.

So I’m not sure if I would take the federal contract route, although I completely understand why some people do. Some people are very passionate about deobligation and finances and spreadsheets, and they love that. And working for the federal government, of course, has its own benefits, especially financially. So although that’s a passion for a lot of people in my department, I think my goal, especially with my social work background, is geared more towards the support of VisionCorps programming side.

Hoby: I love that. And that’s a model of these agencies like VisionCorps that I think is incredible, is that the labor that’s performed, the work, the gainful employment that’s offered, some of those monies from the contracts that are closed or the federal government purchases products that the company makes or whatever, that money goes back into training folks on the rehabilitation side of the company. That’s incredible.

And when you go to work every day and you can understand and rest assured that children, middle-aged folks, older adults are learning that blindness is okay and they’re getting skills so they can live truly independent lives, I fully understand how that’s the main driver for you.

Scarlet: Yeah, absolutely. And I think part of it is there’s that drive. And, of course, there’s always going to be the financial aspect of every job motivation, right? Like we do need to pay bills. That is something we got to do. But VisionCorps, I’ve been able to do that fine with my current position there. I recently, just this past last March, just bought a house, which is not –

Hoby: Nice.

Scarlet: Yes, that’s a huge financial milestone of mine, a personal goal that I’ve always wanted to do. And a few years ago, when I was constantly working these part-time jobs, I thought that was going to be a lot more difficult to obtain. And VisionCorps has really made that an opportunity for me and I’m able to financially support my family. And I have a house and I have a dog. And that’s really something that VisionCorps has been able to provide with this position that I have. And so I think that’s another reason why I’m comfortable staying where I am right now.

Hoby: First of all, congratulations on buying a house and being able to support your family. And that’s huge and it’s not something, unfortunately, most folks who are blind or visually impaired can say. So it’s a huge accomplishment. And tell me just the emotions that you feel when you think about, hey, I am working hard. I am earning money. I’m supporting my family. And by gosh, I bought my first home. How does that make you feel?

Scarlet: Well, that’s a big question. And honestly, it makes me feel whole, I guess.

Hoby: Yes.

Scarlet: I feel like a lot of the social stigma around persons with disabilities is that we’re incomplete. We’re missing something. And although our lives might be different, I wouldn’t say that they’re less than. And so being able to buy a house and support my family and have a daughter and have a husband and being able to live the life that I’ve dreamed for myself and achieve the life that I want has really made me be like, no, I’m a whole person. I have a whole fulfilling life. I’m raising a daughter and I never want her to feel like she’s less than.

And so that’s really the emotions that are going through my mind when I think about everything that I’ve achieved.

Hoby: Well, that is just beautiful. I mean, I love hearing that so much because we deserve to feel whole. We deserve to work hard and earn the benefits of that very hard work. And I’ll tell you one thing, I know that when I was an undergrad in college, I have no problem admitting that I was on SSI. And it was a fantastic resource when I needed it. But there’s this funny psychology that I’ve seen where money that we earn with our own two hands, working hard feels so much sweeter and like such a bigger accomplishment than support that’s given to us. Would you agree with that?

Scarlet: I agree 1,000%. When I was 14, my very first job was at an ice cream shop.

Hoby: I love it.

Scarlet: And I’ll never forget my first paycheck. I went out, there was a pair of really cool Vans that I wanted. Vans like shoes, skate shoes. And Vans are not, they’re not cheap when it comes to shoes. I have six siblings and I grew up in Appalachia. And so growing up we were fine, like we were okay. But we weren’t affording the high end shoes, right? So my parents got by and I wanted these shoes for a long time, but they were expensive. And I spent my first paycheck buying those shoes because I had previously only ever worn like Skechers and Airwalks.

Hoby: Yeah. Right, right, right.

Scarlet: Yeah, the Payless shoes.

Hoby: Sure.

Scarlet: And so I wore those shoes every day until I got holes in the soles. I was so proud of those shoes.

Hoby: I love it.

Scarlet: That was my very first paycheck.

Hoby: You earned them.

Scarlet: Yep.

Hoby: Yeah, I love that. And for me, like if someone were to give me an allowance to go on a vacation and say, okay, here’s twenty thousand dollars to do whatever you want with, I would not feel as good, that vacation wouldn’t feel as sweet as if I earned that money myself and went away and did what I wanted to do. It’s so important to, and really anyone who’s listening who’s in public policy or who’s working in the level of welfare and this sort of thing, think about how it feels to receive rather than to work hard and earn money. It’s a huge difference.

And when we can go out there, because we all, you know, that’s the thing about those of us who are blind and visually impaired, we know how to work hard. Because to succeed, we have to work harder than our sighted peers, right?

Scarlet: Yep.

Hoby: So when you hire a blind person, boy, you’re getting a dedicated, hardworking employee. And it just is amazing to me how hard it is for us to find work. But boy, when we do and we can support our family and pay full price for groceries and full price for our houses and whatever the case may be, it just tickles me. It feels so good to have that luxury.

Scarlet: Yeah, absolutely. And these social welfare programs, they’re fantastic safety nets. Like they’re really great for people when we need them. And that’s exactly what they are, they’re a safety net. And the whole point is to be there to protect us so that way we can get back on our feet. And it feels so good when we do get back on our feet.

Hoby: 1,000% agreed. 1,000% agreed. When we can rise to the occasion and do our own thing, and so many people think of us and they think of this sort of clinical model, right? And when we can just go out there and do what we want because we want to do it, that’s power.

Scarlet: Absolutely.

Hoby: Well, I just want to say, Scarlet, this has been absolutely incredible. Our time is running a little bit short here, but I’ve got a couple of questions that I want to ask you as we wrap up here. And the first one is, what advice would you give someone maybe who’s, say, a family member of someone who’s blind or visually impaired and they’re scared to accept the fact that that person is blind or visually impaired and they’re scared for them to go out and start working and sort of enter the real world? What advice would you have for them?

Scarlet: Yeah, and I’m going to say something. I say this so often, I feel like it’s almost a mantra and it’s about meaningful employment. And meaningful employment increases access to resources, services, and opportunities. This then enables individuals with disabilities to live more independently. It provides equitable opportunities for achieving social, vocational and financial milestones. And that’s such an incredible feeling when you’re able to support yourself.

Hoby: Such an incredible feeling. And what if that person is really afraid to get out there and go to work? Like, I’m blind, how do I do that? How should they just get out there and get that first step under their belt?

Scarlet: I would say the first step is to do what you love and go from there. I’m actually a part time actress.

Hoby: I love that. That’s awesome.

Scarlet: It’s been a passion of mine for a long time. I worked for Hershey Park, I’ve been in plays. It’s awesome. I love acting. Of course, acting is not for some people. Acting can be very difficult to be a financial career, but it’s something, right? And it’s something that I love.

So I’d say if you’re scared of getting employment and getting out there, start with something you love. Maybe make craft projects and sell them on Etsy, right? Maybe start with volunteering, right? So there’s no pressure when you first get out there. Start that way. Start with what you love and what you’re comfortable with and then work from there. As you get more comfortable, build yourself up.

Hoby: That is such good advice. And a lot of people don’t necessarily think about it this way, but volunteering will build your resume. If you volunteer in areas where you want to eventually be employed, that is a great resume builder. And this whole thing about doing what you love, it’s so important. I’m so glad you said that, because if you don’t do what you love and you don’t follow your heart, it’s hard to feel joy in what you do.

And I think for people like you and me, I love what I do. It sounds like you absolutely love what you do. And when you truly love what you do, whether it be acting or even the day-to-day work that we do, it doesn’t feel like work. It’s just fun. It’s just passion.

Scarlet: Yeah.

Hoby: I love it.

Scarlet: There will be times when I’m drowning in a spreadsheet and I’m like, why am I doing this? And then I’ll see like a poster for an eye exam screening for preschool kids. And I’m like, that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing. Like, this is so important. And I get motivated again, right? So when you do what you love, the motivation and the joy will be there.

Hoby: Or like an adorable little preschooler walks by your desk with their cane, learning how to walk independently. It’s like, that’s why we do this.

Scarlet: Oh my gosh, yes, toddler canes are so adorable. My daughter actually just got her first cane and it’s so cute. It’s so little.

Hoby: Oh my gosh, canes are so cute. Another client of mine is the LightHouse for the Blind of San Francisco and every year we do a beeping egg hunt around springtime and we do it at Guide Dogs.

Scarlet: Yes, the beeping egg hunt. Yeah.

Hoby: We do it at Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael and oh my goodness, talk about a photo magnet. All these little toddlers running around with puppies. It doesn’t get much cuter than that.

Scarlet: I love that. I love that so much.

Hoby: Yeah, it’s so much fun. It’s a lot of fun. And, you know, you have inspired so many people with your words on this show today, I’d love to invite you back for a second episode to talk about maybe some other aspects of your work that we didn’t get to touch on today. So by all means, if you want to come on again, reach out to us because I’d love to have you.

And one of the things is I think it’s so valuable when people hear you and they get inspired by you and that sort of thing, if they have questions, if they can contact you. So do you mind if I put your email address in the show notes?

Scarlet: Yeah, that’s fine, actually.

Hoby: Thank you so much. Thank you so much. And I think if people are inspired by you, when people are inspired by you rather, and they want to reach out and just ask a question, if you don’t mind, that’s a huge gift to the audience.

Scarlet: Yes, absolutely. A special thing about me, I love meeting new people. My phone is full of people that I’ve met on trains and Uber drivers and planes.

Hoby: I love it.

Scarlet: I’ve met photographers, electricians, singers, fellow actors I’ve met. And I put them in my phone and when I need something, I contact them later. If you need a contact, I’m your person. I just love meeting new people and talking to new people, so absolutely you can put my email down. That’s fine.

Hoby: I love it. And I feel like meeting new people makes us better people and more whole people. I’m the same way. And some of my best friends have been the ones that I’ve randomly met on the train who I’ve asked, hey, is there a seat available? Or when you’re not worried about the stigma of, oh, what are people going to look at me? Am I going to be judged? When we just do our thing and organically get to know people, those are some of the best relationships.

Scarlet: Yep.

Hoby: I love that. Well, I might be reaching out if I have some particular thing that I need. I might reach out for contacts, you never know.

Scarlet: I got a binder full of them, so if you ever need anything.

Hoby: I love that. I love that. Scarlet, thank you so much for joining me today. It’s been an absolute pleasure and people are going to gain so much from listening to our conversation.

Scarlet: Thank you for having me, Dr. Hoby.

Hoby: It’s a lot of fun. Take care.

Scarlet: Thanks, you as well.

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