Please join us in congratulating the 2024 Ohio Regional Braille winners!
Apprentice:
1st Place — Wesson James
2nd Place — Jacqueline Gibson
3rd Place — Junior Whitlock
Freshmen
1st Place — Mila Nash
Sophomore:
1st Place — Anne Ye
2nd Place — Stacia Boyd
3rd Place — Cheyenne Rains
Junior Varsity:
1st Place — Nadia Albrecht
2nd Place — Jayven Hall
3rd Place – Brian Patton-Adams
Varsity:
1st Place — Makenzie Love
2nd Place — Hope Beshears
3rd Place – Perseus Decker
Feb. 2024 — More Than 30 Kids Compete in Braille Challenge
More than 30 school-aged students with blindness or visual impairments competed in the 2024 statewide braille literacy competition hosted by Clovernook Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired on February 21. This marked the eighth year for the Ohio Regional Braille Challenge.
The day-long competition, held at the Cincinnati Museum Center, tested participants in grades one through 12 on fundamental braille skills such as reading comprehension, spelling, speed and accuracy, proofreading, and charts and graphs.
“The Ohio Regional Braille Challenge is an opportunity for us to help build confidence in children and teenagers who are blind or visually impaired so that they can ultimately lead active, productive and independent lives,” said Chris Faust, Clovernook Center president and CEO.
The theme for this year’s event was Braille Around the World, submitted by Belen Lopez Santos, a sophomore at Colerain High School, as part of an annual theme submission contest open to students last fall.
“This idea inspired me because there should be braille wherever a visually impaired person goes, even a different country,” said Santos.
Although competition was foremost on everyone’s mind, all participants had a little fun along the way. Throughout the day, students took a break from all the action and engaged in music courtesy of Band in a Bus — a local nonprofit that is dedicated to helping kids “make noise” through musical programming.
Each participant received a black t-shirt decked out with the Braille Around the World theme and the day concluded with all students receiving medals for their hard work and participation.
Judges from Braille Institute will review the test results and announce the Ohio Regional Braille Challenge winners in each category this spring.
Students who compete in preliminary Braille Challenge events like the Ohio Regional Braille Challenge can qualify for the National Braille Challenge finals — the only academic competition of its kind for students who are blind or visually impaired. More than 50 regional events take place in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The top 10 finalists in each age category qualify to compete in the National Braille Challenge finals each summer.
