Dane Geer kicks away his vision challenges, determined to stay in school and live on his own.
“Sometimes I have a hard time doing my homework,” said the 24-year-old Bakersfield College student.
Geer is enrolled in three classes at BC and works in the cafeteria three hours a day, five days a week.
He is not completely blind, but can only see straight ahead. Geer cannot see throuh his peripheral vision.
His companion is Dimitri, a 2-year-old guide who walks around with him.
Dimitri helps him get around campus and also gives him a way to meet new people.
“Dimitri gets a lot of attention from everybody,” he said.
Geer started out at the Foundation for the Junior Blind in Los Angeles., a program that teaches independence.
He then went to a guide dog school to train with Dimitri for a month. Nine days later he moved to Bakersfield.
Geer was born 3 months premature, weighing 1.9 ounces. He had a twin sister who died five days later. He was put on oxygen which made the blood vessels in his eyes bleed. Doctors operated 14 times on his eyes as well as on blood vessels from his heart to his lungs. The eye surgeries left scar tissues on his eyes.
Despite his disability, Geer takes the bus and arrives at BC everyday at 9 a.m. and leaves around 4 p.m.
He plans to graduate with a certificate of computer assistant technology and plans to teach the blind or physically impaired.
When not studying, he likes to relax at home.
“I like to relax and watch movies on my big screen, because I’m paying for that, that’s what I’m working for,” he said.
He also enjoys traveling to L.A. beaches and relaxing with Dimitri.
Occasionally, he said, some students give him a bad time about the guide dog. He just brushes it off and stays positive.
“If I can make it through that I can make it through anything. If I can do it, anyone can. Sometimes it gets hectic, but hey, stick with it. It’s the outcome that will be my reward.”