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Friday, May 15, 2009 9:26 PM CDT
This LLC grad has vision that counts
By HERB MEEKER, Staff Writer
hmeeker@jg-tc.com
PARIS -- Blind since childhood, A.J. Scheiner has a different way of looking at things.
“I’m the kind of person who says, ‘Why can’t I?’ I don’t shy away from doing things,” the 22-year-old said as he prepared to graduate from Lake Land College Friday with a degree in agriculture machinery sales.
“He is a very upbeat individual. He takes what you and I would call an obstacle and turns it into a healthy challenge,” said LLC division chair Curt Rincker.
With Scheiner’s can-do attitude, he joined the Paris High School marching band as a teenager and dead lifted hundreds of pounds in competitions.
When he brought home a garden tractor “in pieces,” A.J. and his father, Joe, became a tractor-pulling team with the help of walkie-talkies. As A.J. drove the tractor, Joe walked along offering leaning or braking directions to stay on track. The method now works for antique tractors, like the 1955 Oliver Super 88 A.J. has used in pull competitions since 2006.
“One time the batteries were dead in the walkie-talkie and he was going off track. He couldn’t hear my directions. We definitely learned to check the batteries from then on,” said Joe Scheiner.
Getting involved in tractor pulling got A.J. interested in agriculture. That and having many high school buddies involved in farming led him to Lake Land.
He first came to Lake Land with some people doubting his claims to activities. Some people apparently have a blind spot on the abilities of the disabled.
“People would say, ‘There’s no way you can do that!’ I told them I did. I wanted to carry a video around of my pulling to show them it was true,” said A.J.
For most of his life, he has learned through hearing and feel. Lake Land offered documents in Braille and teachers provided additional time for hammering home the lessons.
Rincker said Scheiner has a talent for picking up details.
“He shows up to class well prepared. He can recognize someone’s voice after just talking to them once. And he has a great rapport with the other students,” Rincker said.
Scheiner hopes to get a job in sales in farm machinery or even automobiles. He has completed internships but like many college graduates in these hard times he is looking for a career job.
But Scheiner feels privileged just to earn a college diploma.
“I feel blessed to get to go to college. You just have to believe in yourself. You can’t do anything if you’re not willing to take that first step,” he said.
Even the long walk to the podium for the diploma was a way for Scheiner to show his independence. He was debating whether he might be accompanied or just count steps.
“I just might map it out so I can go up by myself,” he said.
Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.
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