Advocate for blind citizens to speak at SCSU convocation

The event will recognize hundreds of high achievers in a virtual presentation via SC State’s YouTube Channel beginning at 3 p.m.

SC State will recognize Presidential Scholars who have achieved superior grade point averages at bronze (3.00-3.49), silver (3.50-3.74) and gold (3.75-4.00) levels. Seniors with perfect 4.0 GPAs will receive special recognition.

The university also will recognize recipients of academic, merit and need-based scholarships from various community partners and endowments.

About Shawn Callaway

Callaway was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland. When he was a sophomore at SC State University, a classmate was playing with a gun and accidentally shot Calloway in the temple. The accident resulted in the detachment of his optic nerves, which caused total blindness.

Callaway returned to the D.C. area and received blindness training at the Workforce Technology Center in Baltimore. He credits a blind man named Lou Smith with providing his training and being an early mentor. He also credits his parents for encouraging him throughout his transition to life as a successful blind person.

After his rehabilitation training, Callaway earned his associate degree in psychology from Essex Community College in 1995, his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland in 1997, and then his master’s in social work from Catholic University of America in 2000. He began his professional career working with the homeless at Catholic Charities, and then went on to counsel children in the Washington, D.C., public school system for the city’s Department of Behavioral Health.

He now works as a program specialist for the United States Department of Health and Human Services, specifically in programs of the Administration on Community Living and the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Callaway joined the National Federation of the Blind in the spring of 2009. He found himself leading the Washington, D.C., affiliate after longtime leader Don Galloway died in 2011. He is a member of the federation’s board of directors.

He has served on the boards of the DC Center for Independent Living and the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind and has chaired the DC rehabilitation council. He co-hosts a community radio program called Open Our Eyes on two local stations. In addition, he serves as the President of the DC Friends of the Talking Book and Braille Library and is a member of the DC Blind Bowlers Association.

In 2005, he married Latonya Rollins of Cleveland, Ohio. They have a daughter, Camille.