Blindness, Cancer Couldn’t Hold Them Back

Brianna Rigsbee and Tiffany Fullerton battled congenital blindness and cancer, respectively — and made it to college with high grades and some scholarship money.

The two rising college freshmen (pictured above) shared their remarkable stories last week at a ceremony held by the New Haven Firebirds, as the black and Latino firefighting organization offered them and seven other local students scholarships between $500 and $750, to acknowledge their academic success and commitment to the community.

Fullerton plans to double major in accounting and finance at Fairfield University, after enjoying an accounting class she took senior year. ​“It’ll help me be able to travel to different places,” which is one of her priorities, she said.

She was one of the first to sign up for Hillhouse High School’s Public Safety Academy, which brought in firefighters, police officers, and EMTs to teach students the ropes of emergency medical professions. The program has more funding now than it did four years ago. Over the years, Fullerton said, she has been able to take advantage of more offerings, including hands-on training and field trips in the region.

Though Fullerton does not plan to become a firefighter, the Hillhouse valedictorian graduates high school with CPR, AED and EMT certification, as well as a ​“calling to be able to want to help people.”

Fire Capt. Gary Tinney (pictured above left) brought the program to the high school in part to offer alternative career options to interested students. The training has helped Fullerton’s confidence, Tinney noted; four years ago, talking to Fullerton, ​“you couldn’t hear a peep.”

Her junior year, Fullerton noticed lumps appearing down her calves. A doctor’s appointment and a biopsy revealed the lumps were T cell lymphoma. Luckily, the doctors had caught it early. After treatment, Fullerton went into remission this January.

“No matter what your obstacle is, turn it into a positive,” she said, when asked what advice she would give to incoming freshmen.

She said she hopes to volunteer at Make A Wish Foundation this summer, and is headed to Disney World this week on a foundation-sponsored trip.

Rigsbee spoke to other awardees at last week’s ceremony. She focused on her achievements—her tenure as Wilbur Cross High School’s first blind cheerleader, her success on the track team, her consistent 4.0 grade point average.

Soon after birth, Rigsbee was diagnosed with micropthalmia, which left her blind. Daily, she has to work harder than the average person to fit in with her peers and get from place to place. That has helped her learn how to advocate for herself, said her mother, former Beaver Hills/West Hills Alder Angela Russell (pictured).

Rigsbee put in a request to change her assigned teacher of the visually impaired (TVI) when she found one who was more effective in helping students. Rigsbee started Cross ​“far behind her peers” in her knowledge of technology, Russell said. She has worked hard to get up to speed.

As a high school student, Rigsbee was entitled to the services from a paraprofessional, to ensure she could navigate her surroundings. As a college student at Southern Connecticut State University, she will no longer be entitled to those services. Russell is hiring a personal assistant to help her for the first couple of weeks. After that, a mobility instructor will help Rigsbee ​“memorize her routine,” Russell said.

She will be able to take her own notes with the help of a voice recorder and a portable Braille computer. The university does provide a note taker for visually impaired students who need the help.

She plans to study psychology at Southern, she said, because ​“I like analyzing people, figuring them out. I’m the family psychologist.”