Senior public relations major Preston Radtke started off his freshman year at Ball State similar to how many students begin their college careers.
He had to take the time to adjust to life without parents around, learn the ins and outs of campus and try to figure out his path in life. But what makes Radtke a little different from other students - yet has never held him back - is that he is visually impaired.
During his four years at Ball State, Radtke has not only figured college out, but he's done it all. From Hall Council to Swing Dance Club, to his additional creative writing major, he prides himself in having been involved in everything.
Radtke has a cone-rod dystrophy disorder. This has left him with little vision, primarily out of the corners of his eyes. He can see bright color contrasts, but what he can see is very blurry.
At Park Hall on Wednesday evening, Park resident assistant Ashley Raby hosted an event where Radtke was able to tell his story to other students.
Raby, a junior nursing major, said she wanted to have a discussion about blindness and get students interested in a topic that she has dealt with all her life. Raby's older brother was blind by the time she was born.
Though she herself had not yet heard Radtke's entire story, she wanted to learn it and inform other students too. She knew that, while Radtke lives with a disability the average college student might know nothing about, he makes the best out of the life he was given.
"This [event] is precious to me," Raby said. "It's about thankfulness… instead of complaining about what you don't have."
Radtke said he was happy to tell his story, so he can give back and inform whom he can.
In addition to hearing Radtke speak, students who attended the event could watch the 2008 film "Seven Pounds" while eating snacks. Though Raby said she knew her movie choice didn't match her student speaker's story exactly, it tells the story of a man who does everything he can to help those around them with their own disabilities.
One message Radtke emphasized is that he is independent and has been for most of his life. Throughout high school, he played goalball, a sport invented for the visually impaired.
He was on the Goalball Junior National team, which allowed him to travel – in many cases completely alone – to different places all over the nation. He said this taught him independence, and gave him confidence in other areas of his life.
"Without goalball, I probably wouldn't be in college with you all," Radtke said.
However, not wanting to limit himself, Radtke enjoys other sports as well, including track and field, power lifting and dancing.
This isn't easy without sight, Radtke said, because "when you're dancing, you can't use a cane."
Radtke has always worked to overcome whatever limitations his blindness presented him with, but that's not how he wants to be remembered after he graduates in May.
"I guess I just want to be remembered as someone who was outgoing," Radtke said. "Someone who liked to try everything."
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