Bayside High School student Ben Bermudez was diagnosed with colorblindness when he was in kindergarten, but his world recently became a little more colorful, thanks to a few of his classmates.
Kenyce Rodriguez and Vanessa Lilo spearheaded efforts to give Bermudez a special gift: a pair of eyeglasses designed to correct colorblindness.
“I was definitely surprised to think they would do that for me,” said the 14-year-old.
Bermudez, who has difficulty seeing blues and greens, is a quick learner who “has been resilient in overcoming challenges,” said his mother Caroline Bermudez, a resident of Woodbridge Pointe.
For example, he’s learned to speak up when the need to distinguish between colors has been an issue, such as when taking color-coded tests or when boundaries in soccer games are marked in colors he can’t clearly see.
Bermudez is one of approximately 90 freshmen enrolled in a combined science and physical education, sci-phy, course at the Bayside High School Health Sciences Academy. Health and physical education teacher Jenn Vedder and biology instructor Ryan Kurpiel regularly combine forces for the class.
“We come together when our curriculums overlap to create authentic learning experiences,” Vedder said. For example, students studied nutrition and how the body uses food for energy. They also learned how to make healthy snacks for an upcoming rock-climbing field trip.
The unit on genetic disorders generated a lot of interest, Vedder said. “The kids really dove into that.” They wanted to know what happened genetically and how colorblindness impacted Ben’s life. Their curiosity was “so relevant, we let them run with it,” she said.
Rodriguez and Lilo discovered special glasses designed to help people like Bermudez. They approached their teachers with the idea of raising money to buy him a pair. “It was a no-brainer,” Kurpiel said, praising the class’ thoughtfulness. “They are amazing.”
Lilo and Rodriguez said they wanted to help because they saw firsthand some of the obstacles their friend faced. Once during a group project, they were tasked with writing a script for a podcast. While separating their individual lines by color, they realized he had trouble distinguishing his part, Lilo recalled.
“It’s easy for us to tell what is what,” Rodriguez said. “We wanted to make his life a little easier.”
The plan was to surprise their friend, but they needed to determine what type of glasses would fit his needs. So, they asked him to help with some research. Rodriguez “gave me her phone and asked me to take a test,” Bermudez said.
Those results helped determine which EnChroma glasses would best fit his needs. Word spread on social media, and more than $300 was raised in less than a week, enough to make the purchase.
“Our original plan was to give him the glasses at school with everyone together,” Rodriguez said. But the COVID-19 pandemic changed their plans.
In mid-March, Rodriguez and Lilo visited Bermudez’s home. “I turn around and Kenyce is in my driveway,” he said.
She left a box and stepped back to ensure proper social distancing. He opened the package and read a letter explaining how the class had collected money to buy him the glasses.
“It was just really nice,” he said, adding that the glasses will especially come in handy when he eventually gets a driver’s license and will need to decipher the traffic light signals.
Bermudez’s mother said she was emotional as she watched her son try on the new glasses: “Right away he could tell the difference,” she said. “The grass and the sky really popped out.”
Cindy Butler Focke, fockecindy@gmail.com
