University student Ambrose Bub awoke with severe vision loss in one eye the same day he had one of his major engineering exams.
“It was very difficult to describe,” he said.
“It felt like the walls were falling down.”
Two failed subjects later and legally blind, Ambrose put a pause on uni to acclimatise.
Diagnosed with a hereditary disease called Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy at 19, Ambrose had three brothers who he could lean on for extra support and advice, as they also had gone through similar vision loss.
Photo: Ambrose Bub.
Spurred on to continue his studies, Ambrose switched degrees to a Bachelor of Business Economics at Queensland University of Technology, something he thought would be easier than the visually heavy engineering.
This time he also received help from Vision Australia’s Further Education Bursary, equipping him with some assistive technology to make his uni life as easy as possible.
From a JAWS 2022 screen reader licence to help him with his coursework, to a Victor Trek GPS and media player to help him get around campus, Ambrose has transitioned back into uni smoothly.
“Anyone who is vision impaired and doubting whether they could go back to study or not, it might seem like there are a lot of stumbling blocks in your path, but through the bursary I’ve been able to purchase things which really alleviate some of the pain,” he said.
Ambrose hopes to pursue a career that suits his needs and his personality, whether it be as a business analyst, giving financial advice or working for the government in treasury.
“It’s quite a wide scope of options,” he said proudly.
Since 1996, the Vision Australia Further Education Bursary program has supported more than 450 students who are blind or have low vision to succeed in their studies. Find out more about the program at visionaustralia.org.