Dec. 22 -- Oklahoma School for the Blind graduate Sandy Evans remains committed to helping vision impaired people. She knows what they go through.

"I feel a calling to provide resources and encourage others with disabilities, especially vision loss," she said.

Evans' roots with Oklahoma School for the Blind go deep, even before she was born. She said her mother, who had a retina disease, was a cheerleader at New Mexico School for the Blind. Her father, who had a cornea disease, was a wrestler for the Arkansas School for the Blind.

"They actually met here (at OSB) at a music festival when they were in high school," she said. "After marriage and two years at Perkins School for the Blind, they came here. My parents really played a key role in encouraging me to further my skills and education."

After graduating from OSB in 1991, Evans attended Northeastern State University, where she studied public relations. She worked for a nonprofit in Wichita, Kansas, before returning to Oklahoma around 2019. She is a vocational rehabilitation specialist with the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services.

She said she helps people with their vision loss as she deals with her own.

"You learn how to feel," she said. "I do probably more things visually more than I should. It's a process. As I have lost more vision, I have done more tactile development on the computer, not everybody learns audibly."

Outside her work, Evans is active with Oklahoma Council for the Blind and is a board member for OSB Foundation. She said the foundation supports the school staff and students.

"There are a number of activities where state funds don't help," she said. "This offers opportunities for classrooms, new activities."

She also enjoys doing crochet, a skill she learned in fifth-grad art class.

"It's more of a stress reliever than an exercise," she said. "This is something I can do after work."

OSB activities shared with classmates

Sandra Evans fondly recalls attending Oklahoma School for the Blind through middle school and high school.

"Most of the memories I cherish are activities and events I was able to share with my classmates, as well as other students who were close to my age," she said. "Oklahoma School for the Blind offered a lot of opportunities for me to be active and learn a variety of skills I probably would not have been able to learn in public schools."

She recalled being a cheerleader, cheering on the Panthers at wrestling tournaments. Many were in other states.

Evans was in student council and played keyboard in the school's jazz band.

"I really enjoyed going to other school competitions," she said. "We played jazz pieces as well as other contemporary music."

She also attended Muskogee High School and took classes at Oklahoma Baptist University between her junior and senior year and at Bacone College her senior year.

Through all this, Evans managed to be valedictorian of the OSB Class of 1991.

Knit one, pearl two relaxes Evans

Evans says crochet is a relaxing way to do something with her hands.

"After a long day visiting with clients and traveling, it does help relieve a little stress," Evans said. "It's actually something that can be productive as well."

Evans couldn't say exactly how many pieces she has done. Evans recalled pillows she made at OSB art class and one piece she crocheted for her mother.

"It was a scarf I had done when I was quite young, so I enjoyed that," she said. "The pillows were special, more sentimental than anything else."

She said she's working to do a greater variety of crochet patterns.

"Right now, I am working on more that are a little easier because some of the stitches can be more difficult to feel your way through," she said.

Evans said she encourages her clients to have hobbies, such as crochet.

"I try to get them to do something to get their mind off the day-to-day mundane tasks," she said. "When you have challenges in your life, some things allow you to have more of an outlet, other than physical exercise."

Continues to help with vocation rehab

Evans continues to help vision impaired people through the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services. She's been a vocation rehabilitation specialist for five years. The job includes coordinating instruction for independent living and helping clients set goals.

Her first four years were in Enid, where she covered northwest Oklahoma from Kingfisher through the Panhandle.

She returned to Muskogee in 2024. Her service area goes up to Washington and Nowata Counties and a couple of zip codes west of Tulsa. She said her husband drives her to clients' homes.

"My home is here so I appreciate being home," she said.

Evans said her biggest challenge is educating and visiting with people about their capabilities.

"No matter your limitation, there are skills and technology to accommodate it," she said. "So even if you have a little bit of impairment, there is opportunity to see better and maximize use of vision."

She said her reward is helping people be more independent and gain new skills

"I think its a blessing for them as well as me," Evans said.

HOW DID YOU COME TO BE AN OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE?

"My dad was an orientation mobility specialist here for 30 years. I was born here, and after graduating from NSU, I moved away for a job. I had an opportunity to work part time in Wichita. PR for several nonprofits. I came back here to be closer to family."

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT MUSKOGEE?

"It's small town that's big enough for some activities and a variety of activities. And it's home."

WHAT WOULD MAKE MUSKOGEE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE?

"More economic development and growth. But, I think that's about everybody."

WHAT PERSON IN MUSKOGEE DO YOU ADMIRE MOST?

"Some of my teachers at Oklahoma School for the Blind. I remember Ms. Lindsay was my piano teacher and Ms. Maycher taught in the eighth grade. Ms. Carter was sixth grade. They provided encouragement and understanding. In Ms. Carter's class, there was a big tactile map of Europe and one of our projects was to take all the countries apart, put it back together and name all the countries and all the capitals. She liked to give us orange candies."

WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU IN MUSKOGEE?

"I remember the wrestling tournaments. I would participate in cheerleading and it was quite memorable for other states to come here for a tournament. There were a couple of wrestlers from Canada. Just socializing and relating to other students with vision impairments was quite memorable. I am friends with some of them still on social media. I was in Rainbows for a couple of years so I participated in some of their activities. and travel across the state."

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

"I do like to crochet a little bit. I do like to watch TV and movies. I love audio description."

HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP MUSKOGEE IN 25 WORDS OR LESS?

"Vibrant, full of life and opportunities to see nature."