HAMBURG, N.Y. – Michael Fox walking to class or his many campus activities at Hilbert College while accompanied by Rocky, his seeing eye dog, has become a familiar scene on the Southtowns campus. That will soon change as graduation nears for Fox, whose visual impairment never kept the Leadership Scholar from attaining academic success or having an active campus life.

For Fox, being visually impaired simply wasn’t an obstacle in his college experience. "I never worried about the visual challenges during my studies at Hilbert," he said. "Sure, there’s a lot of reading and writing, but these are challenges college students have to contend with in any program. Although limited, this is the only vision I’ve ever known and I use what I have available."

Fox, an academic honors student, will receive a bachelor’s degree in English at Hilbert’s 43rd commencement at 11 a.m. May 15 in the Wesleyan Church of Hamburg, S 4999 McKinley Parkway, Hamburg.

Born with optic nerve hypoplasia, Fox, 23, is considered legally blind. He entered Hilbert in Fall 1999 after graduating from Lake Shore High School.

"As soon as I visited the campus, I knew Hilbert was right for me. Its great academic programs, environment, individual attention -everything was what I wanted,” said
Fox. "Hilbert has been like a second home to me."

A lifelong Western New Yorker, Fox has excelled in the classroom, having earned a 3.75 GPA. He credits Hilbert’s Academic Services Center and faculty with helping him with the transition to the demands of college-level coursework while addressing the academic issues he faced as a visually impaired student. "I received the tools and support needed to reach my full potential," noted Fox.

His independent and positive nature translated well into campus activities. In fact, Fox founded and played on the Hilbert Hockey Club, an intercollegiate club sport. He readily admits his play involved more of checking opponents or clearing the puck, adding that he "left the scoring up to the other players."

Fox, a Derby resident, also developed the club’s Web site and is putting the finishing touches on a computer game he created featuring the college’s team.

As a Leadership Scholar since his freshman year, Fox has learned about leadership styles and worked on his own skills in this area.

James Sturm, head of the Leadership Program and vice president for student life, noted Fox has been a motivator to other students in the program.

"Mike has had an impact on everyone involved with the program. He always had a great attitude and was excited to be a part of any program-affiliated activity. He’s been a real inspiration to others."

Never one to back down from a challenge, while on a white water rafting trip as part of a special leadership activity in West Virginia, Fox showed his tenacity by being the first in the Hilbert student group to jump 30 feet from a cliff into the river below.

"He didn’t even hesitate about jumping in. For the rest of the trip, the students talked about what Mike did," said Sturm.

As a Hilbert student, Fox was also active in the Student Government Association, for which he created a Web site, and was member of the Student Senate.

Sturm says Fox is a shining example of the impact Hilbert can have on a student and, at the same time, the positive effect a student can have on the college.

"There’s no question Mike’s presence on campus will be missed," he said. "He took full advantage of many opportunities offered at Hilbert and brought enthusiasm to everything he did."

Looking ahead, Fox plans to attend graduate school to become a teacher of English as a Second Language. For now though, he’s savoring the last couple weeks left before graduation.

"I’m honored to have reached my goal to receive a college degree," said Fox. "Hilbert has meant a great deal to me the past five years. I know that what I’ve learned and the knowledge and skills I’ve gained during my time at the college will help me go far in the future."