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By Paul Alongi<\/strong> Nearly deaf and blind, Miriam Lozneanu thrives\u00a0through perseverance and a positive attitude.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div> MIRIAM LOZNEANU EXTENDED HER CANE, signed\u00a0to her interpreter and\u00a0headed out the door of the\u00a0Hendrix Student Center.\u00a0She went down the steps\u00a0and crossed the street\u00a0by herself without a\u00a0stumble or hesitation. TECHNOLOGY AND DETERMINATION<\/b> Miriam checks her phone while her interpreter looks on beside her.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> OVERCOMING OBSTACLES<\/b> Miriam works on homework with a custom computer. The keyboard key markers and display are enlarged for better legibility and readability.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE<\/b> “My goal is to learn as much as I can and use the experience and knowledge to enhance the lives of disabled people through technology.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div> PERSEVERANCE AND A POSITIVE ATTIRBUTES<\/b>
\n<\/b>Photography by Ashley Jones<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>
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\nThousands of students cross that street every day. But Lozneanu is legally blind and partially deaf. With the\u00a0help of technology, professionals and a positive attitude,\u00a0the 23-year-old computer science major is not only surviving at\u00a0Clemson \u2014 she\u2019s thriving. In addition to her classes, she\u2019s exploring\u00a0the professional world, having interned at Michelin North\u00a0America in the summer of 2017.
\n\u201cI am thankful for being able to show my abilities and succeed\u00a0despite not being able to see or hear much,\u201d Lozneanu wrote in an\u00a0email interview. \u201cMy goal is to use my exceptionality to encourage\u00a0others to persevere despite hardship.\u201d
\nHer exceptional abilities are many. Along with her artistic talents,\u00a0like sketching and music, Lozneanu has excelled academically,\u00a0racking up several academic awards, including membership in Delta\u00a0Alpha Pi, an honor society for top-ranking students with disabilities.\u00a0In 2016, she made the dean\u2019s list in the College of Engineering,\u00a0Computing and Applied Sciences.
\nOn the weekends, Lozneanu heads home to Mauldin to spend\u00a0time with her family and her friends from church. She also does\u00a0service work, telling her story to girls at a juvenile detention center.\u00a0Her goal at the center, she writes, is \u201cto assist the girls in seeing\u00a0that even though life is hard and there are obstacles in the way,\u00a0God can provide a way.\u201d
\nLozneanu\u2019s mother, Ani Lozneanu, says it took years of hard\u00a0work to prepare her daughter to live independently.
\n\u201cShe\u2019s a miracle worker \u2014 let\u2019s put it that way,\u201d Ani says. \u201cShe\u2019s\u00a0not taking no for an answer. She\u2019s not discouraged. She\u2019s always\u00a0told me, \u2018I can do it, I can do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>
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\nONE OF THE FIRST CLASSES Lozneanu took at Clemson was public speaking with senior lecturer Marianne Glaser. They met before classes started, and Lozneanu agreed to learn how to speak to a hearing and seeing audience.
\n\u201cShe would even look from the left side to the right side,\u201d Glaser says. \u201cShe would gesture. She would be grand when she wanted to be expressive. The audience would watch her. You might think the translator would become the attention. But she wasn\u2019t. They would truly be listening to Miriam, even though it was someone else\u2019s voice that was presenting it.\u201d
\nShe walked away from the class with an A.
\nBut success has not come easy. Lozneanu explains that dealing with two sense disabilities presents a unique and extremely challenging situation regarding aid and assistance.
\n\u201cInterestingly, people assume that since I am deaf, the typical accommodations for deaf people should provide the right assistance for me,\u201d she writes. \u201cAnd it is thought that since I am blind, the typical accommodations for the blind should work out just fine.
\n\u201cThink with me about not being able to see or hear \u2014 often having both disabilities cancels out the way various provisions that help the deaf or the blind work.\u201d
\nTechnology has played a role in helping her adapt visually. With her residual vision, she can read print, although she describes it as a huge challenge. She uses magnification software on her computer, iPad and iPhone to zoom in on the screen, allowing her to read and answer questions.
\nImprovements in her hearing have been made by cochlear implants that have enhanced her hearing and allow her to listen to music.
\n\u201cI understand most speech when speaking one-on-one with a person, but I can\u2019t understand group conversations or lectures,\u201d she writes.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>
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\nLOZNEANU’S PARENTS LIVE IN MAULDIN and work at Michelin North America. Her father, Liviu, is an engineer, and Ani works on contract as a supervisor coordinator. Lozneanu has two brothers.
\nWhile she is originally from Romania, the United States is the only home Lozneanu has ever known. Born prematurely, she became sick then suffered hearing and vision loss as a result of complications from the treatment for the illness, her mother explains.
\nLozneanu was still a small child when the family moved to the Detroit area in search of better medical care for her. There she attended elementary school, and her mother remembers becoming dissatisfied with the education her daughter was receiving.
\nAfter doing some research, the family relocated again to Kennesaw, Georgia, where Lozneanu began sixth grade at Pine Mountain Middle School. Ani says she was afraid when her daugther told her she wanted to play violin in the orchestra, wondering if she would be able to do it and how it would affect her if she failed.
\nThe family decided to give it a try and bought a violin. Ani remembers being shocked at how well her daughter played. \u201cIn the concert, I was like, \u2018Wow! She can do it! She really can do it!\u2019\u201d Ani recalls. \u201cEverybody was amazed. It was an example for everybody.\u201d
\nLozneanu also had setbacks that she worked hard to turn into triumphs. Disappointed when she didn\u2019t make it into an advanced math class, she worked harder, going to school an hour early twice a week for help. She received her class\u2019s highest math award for the 2009-10 school year.
\n\u201cShe was so good in math,\u201d Ani says, her voice cracking with pride eight years later. \u201cShe was so determined. I never saw anybody in my career so determined. This child truly, truly deserved this.\u201d
\nLozneanu writes that while she won several awards at Pine Mountain Middle, her achievements in sixth-grade orchestra and eighth-grade math stand out and that she had help from excellent, caring teachers. \u201cI was proud of these achievements because they seemed impossible, and I worked hard to overcome the obstacles.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>
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\nWHEN LOZNEANU WAS IN THE 11TH GRADE, her family moved to Mauldin to be closer to her mother\u2019s sister, an engineer at General Electric. Lozneanu attended J.L. Mann High School and remembers studying four to six hours a night. Magnifying assignments makes them take \u201cmuch, much longer.\u201d
\nIn 2013, Lozneanu was on the move once again. She went to the Helen Keller National Center on Long Island in New York to learn the skills she would need to live independently, such as safe mobility. While in the state, she visited the Rochester Institute of Technology, which has a large number of deaf students.
\nBut Lozneanu decided she wanted to stay close to home and told her mother, \u201cI have it in my heart to go to Clemson.\u201d
\nInitially, Ani wondered how her daughter would navigate campus without getting lost. Lozneanu put her mother\u2019s concerns to rest soon after moving to the University. Her mother recalls visiting her on campus: \u201cI was lost and said, \u2018Miriam, let\u2019s ask somebody because I don\u2019t know how to go back.\u2019 She said, \u2018No, don\u2019t worry. I can guide.\u2019\u201d
\nLozneanu\u2019s education and professional development haven\u2019t stopped at Clemson. During her internship at Michelin, she had three different projects centering on inclusion and information technology. She worked 40-hour weeks and even found time to teach some of her co-workers sign language.
\nOne of these co-workers stepped in and organized a carpool for Lozneanu when transportation to work became an issue.
\nAni says no one would accept gas money. \u201cMiriam got a lot of support from people. I think it was absolutely amazing. All thumbs up to Michelin for the way she was treated and made to feel welcome and home.\u201d
\n\u201cWe were fortunate to have Miriam work with us,\u201d says Herb Johnson, head of diversity and inclusion for Michelin North America. \u201cShe helped us learn and grow as an organization around a different diversity dimension.
\n\u201cWe appreciated Miriam\u2019s passion, drive and willingness to help us become a more inclusive organization in understanding her lenses.
\n\u201cMiriam had a positive impact on everyone she came in contact with and inspired us to learn ASL sign language. We also provided her with three business projects to help her grow in her field and exposed her to some outside of her field to help prepare her for life after graduation.\u201d
\nA transition period from college to work is critical for college students with disabilities, Lozneanu explains.
\n\u201cI enjoyed my time with the employees as well,\u201d she writes. \u201cI am very grateful that Michelin gave me an opportunity to experience the working world and to learn so much.\u201d
\nWhat interests her most is to be able to apply her computer training to the real world. \u201cMy goal is to learn as much as I can and use the experience and knowledge to enhance the lives of disabled people through technology,\u201d Lozneanu writes.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>
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\nLOZNEANU, who is minoring in digital production arts, expects to graduate from Clemson in December. She plans to look for a job developing websites or applications. Lozneanu wants to use her skills to help others experiencing technical issues and is interested in assistive technology and programming.
\n\u201cI am very blessed to live at a time when so many options are available for people with disabilities,\u201d she writes. \u201cThe most frustrating situation is when people like me with disabilities are unable to succeed because they cannot see or hear or walk.
\n\u201cWith the amazing advanced technology available, it is possible for each to receive adequate accommodations to be able to succeed. I try to persevere with a positive attitude knowing obstacles can be overcome, allowing me to show my abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>
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