When Amanda Juetten, a mother of five from Tennessee, received her college degree magna cum laude from Tennessee Tech University on May 9, it was a momentous occasion. What made this achievement even more remarkable was the fact that Amanda is completely blind.
As she crossed the stage to accept her degree, Amanda couldn’t see her family cheering in the audience, but she had her faithful guide dog, Colonel, by her side every step of the way. “I’m totally blind,” Amanda shared in an interview with Fox News Digital. “So I’ve got my guide dog by my side.”
Amanda’s journey to this moment began nearly 30 years ago when she started her college studies but had to put them on hold when she became a mother right out of high school. She worked hard to provide for her family but always had a dream of completing her education.
In 2020, Amanda found herself facing progressive vision loss due to a condition called retinitis pigmentosa, leaving her completely blind. Determined to regain her independence, she enrolled in an eight-month program at the Colorado Center for the Blind to learn new skills and adaptive techniques.
With her newfound confidence, Amanda returned to higher education at Tennessee Tech University in 2022, pursuing a professional studies degree with a concentration in organizational leadership. Despite her blindness, Amanda found incredible support from her instructors who were committed to making her educational experience accessible and inclusive.
Now a college graduate, Amanda is advocating for more acceptance and understanding of the blind community. She believes that blind individuals have a voice and should be empowered to live their lives to the fullest. “I have a voice and I love to use it,” Amanda said. “We need more teachers and more people in the field who believe in the full capacity of the blind.”
See also Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s tough Bronx persona is under fresh scrutiny with a resurfaced childhood nickname from her suburban upstate New York upbringing casting doubt on that publicly portrayed image. The progressive champion’s latest spat with President Donald Trump over the Iran strikes again called into question her true upbringing when she declared on X she was a “Bronx girl" to make her a point against the president. The 35-year-old congresswoman wrote in part on X: "I’m a Bronx girl. You should know that we can eat Queens boys for breakfast. Respectfully," she said, referring to the president’s upbringing in Queens as she called for his impeachment over his decision to bypass Congress in authorizing U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx but moved to Yorktown – which is nearly an hour outside New York City -- when she was 5 years old and went on to attend Yorktown High School where she graduated in 2007. She was considered an accomplished student there and well thought of by teacher Michael Blueglass, according to a 2018 report by local media outlet Halston Media News. “There, known by students and staff as ‘Sandy,’ she was a member of the Science Research Program taught by Michael Blueglass," the report states. “She was amazing," Blueglass said, per the report. “Aside from her winning one of the top spots and going to the [Intel International Science and Engineering Fair], she was just one of the most amazing presenters in all of the years I've been at Yorktown. Her ability to take complex information and explain it to all different levels of people was fantastic." After high school, Ocasio-Cortez attended Boston University, where she majored in economics and international relations, per the report. Ocasio-Cortez’s “Sandy" nickname — which carries a more suburban and preppy tone — appears to undercut her politically crafted image as a tough, inner-city fighter, one she has portrayed since her famous 2018 congressional campaign where she eventually ousted former 10-terms Congressman Joe Crowley. New York GOP Assemblyman Matt Slater, who now represents Yorktown, added to the scrutiny of Ocasio-Cortez’s persona in the wake of her brash with Trump and released images of Ocasio-Cortez from his high school yearbook. He claimed he and the rising Democratic star attended Yorktown High School at the same time when she was a freshman and he was a senior. "I saw the attacks on the president and her [Ocasio-Cortez] claims that she's a big, tough Bronx girl," said Slater. "To sit there and say that she’s a Bronx girl is just patently ridiculous." "Everybody in our community knows this is just a bold-face lie," said Slater on "Fox & Friends First" last week. "She grew up in Yorktown, she was on my track team." "She's lying about her background, she's lying about her upbringing," Slater claimed. Slater’s post sent social media ablaze and prompted Ocasio-Cortez to respond after an image if her family’s home was posted online. “I’m proud of how I grew up and talk about it all the time," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X Friday responding to the post. “My mom cleaned houses and I helped. We cleaned tutors’ homes in exchange for SAT prep." “Growing up between the Bronx and Yorktown deeply shaped my views of inequality & it’s a big reason I believe the things I do today!"
Looking ahead, Amanda plans to pursue a graduate degree in blindness rehabilitation and hopes to offer services in assistive technology and Braille. She has already been actively involved in lobbying for blindness-related initiatives and advocating for the rights of individuals with disabilities.
Through her journey, Amanda has shown that blindness is not a barrier to achieving one’s goals and dreams. With Colonel by her side, she has conquered challenges and is now ready to empower others in the blind community to do the same. Her message to anyone facing blindness is clear: “You still have the same hopes and dreams. So let’s find a way to do that.”
Amanda Juetten’s incredible story serves as an inspiration to all, reminding us that determination, resilience, and the support of loved ones can help us overcome any obstacle.
