Latrobe council honors visually impaired teen for leadership, service to others

At 17, Adison Lemmon knows where she wants to go.

On track to join the National Honor Society and to graduate from Greater Latrobe Senior High this semester, a year earlier than usual, the Unity teen wants to become an early childhood and special education teacher.

Her choice of career will allow her to help and guide others. It is inspired, in large part, by a lifelong visual impairment that has not prevented her from achieving her goals.

“I’m actually a special education student myself,” she said. “I’ve experienced what it’s like to struggle in the classroom.”

Her ability to overcome those struggles while serving others helped make her the recipient of Latrobe City Council’s semi-annual Student Showcase award for outstanding citizenship. Chosen as the Fall 2020 recipient, Lemmon, along with her family and school officials, took part in an in-person award presentation this month, after pandemic restrictions on attendance at council meetings were eased.

Lemmon earned praise for leadership she has demonstrated on student council while mentoring younger students at school and through the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.

Lemmon is known for her positive attitude, according to senior high Principal Jon Mains. “She’s always smiling and she’s always kind,” he said. “She’s always willing to volunteer and step up when needed.”

She has taken on leadership of a school club with the Latin-based name Aevidum, meaning “I’ve got your back.” Formed in the 2018-19 school year, the district chapter works to promote mental wellness and an inclusive atmosphere for all students.

Lemmon has reached out to younger students at the school to “help them get acclimated to the building and the environment,” said Laurie Golobish, director of pupil services for Greater Latrobe.

Club members are “on the lookout for students who may not have friends, who may need a role model and may just need somebody to talk to and some guidance on who to talk to if they’re having a rough day,” Golobish said.

“One of our goals is to help erase the stigma of mental health and make the school a better place,” Lemmon said.

Because of aniridia, a congenital malformation of the iris, Lemmon is legally blind and suffers from light sensitivity and night blindness. She sometimes uses a cane to help her navigate while magnifying devices, a screen-sharing app and use of yellow paper instead of white paper help her complete schoolwork.

She said the misinformed attitudes of others have been more of a problem than the visual limitations she has overcome.

“The biggest challenge is people not believing in me and the stereotype that, if you have a disability, you’re not smart or not capable of doing things other people are,” she said.

But there have been others who believed in Lemmon and helped her. She was encouraged by older students when she struggled to bridge an initial gap between her visual abilities and maneuvers as a member of the school colorguard.

“I had some seniors who really stuck with me and mentored me,” Lemmon said. “They made me keep going. That’s why I pushed through.”

She’s paying that support forward. Since her freshman year in high school, she has mentored a local boy, now 9, through Big Brothers Big Sisters. Lemmon said they “made a connection instantly. He is my little best friend.”

She helped him when he was struggling with reading and writing and has taken him on an outing to the local Chuck E. Cheese restaurant, where she now holds down one of two after-school jobs. Their time together has been limited over the past year because of covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

But, Lemmon said, “I’ll call him to check in on him.”

Lemmon also works at a women’s clothing store, volunteers at a local preschool and serves as a social media manager for Sing for Serenity, an online virtual choir for blind and visually impaired singers.

For five seasons, she has held down various positions with the Pittsburgh Rhinos blind hockey team, which uses an oversized puck with ball bearings that provide players auditory cues.

“Wherever they need me, I go,” she said of the team.

Lemmon performed in her school’s fall play, “Love … No Barriers,” a title that could describe her own goals and ambitions.

“Anyone who told me I couldn’t do something, I told them I could,” she said.