Flowing Wells High School senior Anthony Joey Parra did not get to watch the recent YouTube live-stream ceremony announcing he placed second in the Varsity Category at the 2021 Braille Challenge Finals.
At the time, the 17-year-old was volunteering at a summer camp for blind children led by the Southern Arizona Association for the Visually Impaired in Tucson. He was teaching the youngsters Braille.
Parra lost his vision by age 1. He was born with Leber congenital amaurosis, an eye disorder that primarily affects the retina — the specialized tissue in the back of the eye that detects light and color. Parra has light perception, but no depth perception and he cannot see colors. His parents, Jason and Graecina Parra, said they worried about how their son would adapt to his surroundings, but in time he learned, and they also learned how to help him become independent.
On July 30, the day the winners were announced, Parra called his dad and asked if he placed in the Braille Challenge competition. More than 1,100 students participated in over 50 regional competitions in the United States and Canada. It is the only academic competition of its kind in the world for students who are blind or visually impaired, says the nonprofit Braille Institute. Since 1919, the institute has provided free programs and services to people with vision loss.
Jason Parra told his son that he did not place. The elder Parra told a fib because Joey’s parents wanted to see their son’s reaction when he arrived home and they played the video announcing he was a winner.
The surprise caused the teen smiles and laughter.
“I got a feeling of a sense of accomplishment and excitement that I placed,” said Parra. “It was hard work, and I placed.”
“I am very proud of my son, Joey, and how far he has come to do well to win in the Braille regionals and finals,” said his mother, a resource support assistant for the special education department at Flowing Wells High School. She said her son devotes time studying and preparing for the competitions. That preparation pays off, said his father.
“I was not surprised that he won,” said Jason Parra, a salesman for Canyon Fence Co.
The competition motivates students in first through 12th grades to hone and practice their Braille literacy skills. Braille is a system of raised dots that can be read with the fingers by people who are blind or who have low vision. Braille is not a language, rather it is a code, says the American Foundation for the Blind.
Parra, who has entered the competition in different categories over the years and has placed three other times — twice in second place and once in third — said his experience has helped in understanding the rules and what to expect during the competition. He starts preparing three months before the competition by reading and writing Braille daily — working at speed and efficiency.
“I still have jitters and anxiety,” said Parra about the timed trials that include testing in speed and accuracy, reading comprehension, proofreading and charts and graphs. “The hardest for me is charts and graphs where you might have to look at a map or bar graph and you must analyze and answer 10 questions. The easiest for me is speed and accuracy in which someone reads passages and gives you details, and you have to transcribe it as fast as possible. It is fun, and I like doing it using a Perkins Brailler, a machine that looks like a typewriter,” Parra said.
For placing second this year, Parra will receive an undisclosed amount of cash, a trophy, a medal and a Chameleon 20-cell refreshable Braille display, which the teen described as a computerized device that is connected by Bluetooth to a phone or a laptop and what appears on the screen is transformed into Braille.
Parra, who attended the Arizona State School for the Deaf and the Blind in Tucson from pre-school to the sixth grade, plans to enter the competition one final time while at Flowing Wells before he plans to enroll at the University of Arizona. He has not decided on a major.
During his schooling in the Flowing Wells district, Parra said he had the opportunity to enroll in advanced placement classes, which were not available to him at the deaf and blind school. In junior high, he took advanced English, science, algebra and Spanish classes. In high school, he has taken advanced English, U.S. history and this year will take advanced statistics.
The teen, who uses a cane and his senses to walk the campus, said he has the campus memorized and does not need a guide. He said the classrooms have the room number posted on a plate in Braille by the door.
When Parra is not studying or doing volunteer work, he spends his time reading books or listening to audiobooks. He also has a vinyl record collection that he is proud of and enjoys listening to alternative metal rock and rock bands, including Deftones, Mogwai and Meshuggah. Another favorite pastime is going with his dad shooting at Tucson Mountain Park Rifle and Pistol Range.
