My wife, Francie, and I have offered stipends to students at Xavier for many years so they can spend their summer working for non-profit organizations. At the end of the summer, the students write us letters summarizing their experience, many of which have been life and career changing for them.
One letter we received this past week was particularly mind opening and inspiring.
It came from a student who had worked for an agency supporting people who are blind. The student shared what one of the clients of the organization had shared with her.
"You know being blind", the women said, " I don't judge people by the color of their skin, or by how they look in any way. My view of them comes from what they say and how they say it and how they make me feel".
I had never thought about that before. We have heard of "blind" admissions and "blind" performance appraisals,
Obviously not making up in any way for the tragic loss of sight but offering a thought of how to approach other people--avoiding the instinctive unconscious bias that can sometimes arise from appearances.
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