[msb-alumni] Spokane: Shawn Dobbs Leads by Example at Lighthouse for the Blind
- From: Steve <pipeguy920@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 12 May 2016 14:53:15 -0400
BlankLol, we used to shop at that building when it was Tidyman'
s Grocery. It was only five blocks from our house.
Steve
Spokane: Shawn Dobbs Leads by Example at Lighthouse for the Blind
Shawn Dobbs was the student council president and valedictorian of his class at
the Indiana School for the Blind. But it was on the wrestling mat that
he learned that he could compete in the broader world. In high school, Dobbs
participated in many sports, but wrestling was the only one in which his school
competed against local high schools with students who weren't blind.
"I wanted to measure and see where I stood in the grand scheme of things," he
said.
"It was important for me to have a good understanding of the reality that just
because I'm blind it doesn't mean I can't be successful.
Dobbs, 43, is the development and public relations director of the Inland
Northwest Lighthouse, which manufactures and assembles products for the
government and military. More than 85 percent of the nonprofit's manufacturing
workforce is blind. The Spokane operation opened in 2008 in a former Tidyman's
grocery and is part of the Lighthouse for the Blind, a nonprofit based in
Seattle.
In his job at the Lighthouse and other places where issues affecting blind
people come up, Dobbs is quick to note that 70 percent of blind people are
unemployed. It's a harsh statistic that Dobbs knew back when he was wrestling.
It's one reason why when he graduated from the School for the Blind to attend
the University of Evansville, he decided to surround himself with those who
weren't blind.
"I just wanted to be a normal kid and figure out socially how to integrate with
people who could see," he said. He joined a fraternity, something he credits
with helping with the adjustment to college.
While other students struggled with homesickness, Dobbs was used to being away
from his family. He had lived at the School for the Blind since he was 5, only
going to his home about 50 miles away on weekends.
But Dobbs struggled with other adjustments to college. He tried at first not
to
use his cane. "I didn't necessarily like carrying it because I felt like people
were staring at me," he said.
One day, he walked into a pole. He missed a class on another.
"I couldn't find it. I just couldn't bring myself to ask for help," Dobbs said.
"Finally, this girl was like, "Can I help you." And I was like, 'I guess,
because I'm tired of walking around."
Not long after, he started using his cane. "I had to learn to be OK with the
fact that I was blind. I didn't know that was something I had to work on, but
college helped me deal with that a lot," he said. "You reach a point, maybe a
low point, but that's when you have your greatest opportunity because it's how
you respond to either perceived or real adversity that's important.
Dobbs went on to earn a master's degree from Indiana University in social work.
He worked as a counselor for people dealing with renal failure and later went
back to the Indiana School for the Blind where he was a counselor and coached
track and field. He worked at the Church Federation for Greater Indianapolis
where he helped create a program to help people emerge from poverty and at
Bosma
Enterprises, a nonprofit that assists people who are blind, where he was
a counselor and had other duties.
With his church, he went on many adventures. He went to what he describes as a
"Yoga farm" in Costa Rica. He helped homeless people in Los Angeles and Toronto
and worked with orphans in Tijuana. And he climbed the tallest peak in New
York,
Mount Marcy. It was cold and struggled
to keep up with his group, of which he was the only blind member. He had a
guide, but at one point, he fell through some ice.
"I finally made it to the top," he said. "I've accomplished a lot, but that was
one of the prouder moments because I really wanted not to finish. But I stuck
it
out."
The experiences with his church made him consider moving on in his career. "I
had gone as far as I could go," Dobbs said. "It's time for me to press on to
what's next."
He got the job at the Lighhouse in 2012 and moved to Spokane with his cat
Farrah. "I knew nothing about the town outside the fact that Gonzaga was here,
and I only knew that from watching March Madness," he said. (Dobbs is fine with
using verbs in relation to blind people that refer to vision, as in "He saw the
game," when they mean "went to" or "experienced.")
The Spokane position attracted him because it allowed him to take on new tasks
like government relations.
He didn't know anyone in Spokane. So he began to explore, heading downtown
sometimes just to "figure out where things are.
"I would just go places," Dobbs said. "By going to a lot of the same places,
you
begin to meet people."
Dobbs joined The Porch, a church in the West Central neighborhood. He
currently
leads the church's monthly "beer and theology class" at the Elk in Browne's
Addition. He's also the president of the Northeast Spokane Kiwanis Club.
At a recent breakfast meeting at the downtown Perkins, with an agenda he typed
in Braille at his side, he kept the chatty group of about 15 on task with his
conversational, usually lighthearted, tone. He finally sat down to eat his
breakfast after the group's business was done and the other members had eaten
their last bite.
"He brings so much understanding and humor," said Gary Jesperson, a club member.
Dobbs has many more goals. He'd like to skydive, brew beer and learn to be a
better cook. He wants to finish a triathlon (he's already completed a half
marathon).
Dobbs accomplished one of his long-time goals late last month: stand-up comedy.
He performed at an open mic night at the Gathering House in the Garland
Business
District.
"I really went with blindness, not to be self-deprecating, but to educate
people, and also be funny," he said. "My goal was just to get people a lot more
people comfortable with it." He said it went well and plans to try again with
another routine this Saturday. "I always believe risk is a good thing as long
as
its an educated risk," Dobbs said. "Sometimes its important to be bold and take
a chance."
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