Saturday, June 03, 2006

A long trip

By the time she was in the fourth grade, Sanja Cvitkusic had lived in three countries, was struggling to understand English in a classroom in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District and trying to compensate for a visual handicap.

Her family fled Sarajevo, now capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the civil war and moved to Germany.

Over the next eight years in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District, Ms. Cvitkusic, 18, has excelled academically, exceeding even her own expectations.

Her standing is especially notable because she suffers from achromatopsia, a rare hereditary vision disorder that makes her color blind, sensitive to light and near- and far-sighted. It is so serious that she will never be able to drive a car.

"She is very goal-driven," a teacher said, pointing out that she has participated in many extracurricular activities and has earned a black belt in karate.

Source

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