Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind Celebrates Class of 2022
Since 1858, Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB) has provided superior education for students who are deaf, blind, deafblind, and multidisabled in order to prepare them to reach their limitless potential. This year’s graduation exercises at AIDB will be held on Wednesday, May 25 beginning at 10:00 a.m. in Hawkins Chapel with the annual Baccalaureate Service. Speaker will be Alie B. Gorrie, actress and disability inclusion consultant.
Gorrie has worked on stage as a performer and as an inclusion consultant for theatres. In 2018, she co-created and co-produced the docuseries, ABLE: A Series, which discusses the importance of disability inclusion in theatre, film, and television. She currently serves as the Community Engagement Manager at Red Mountain Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama.
Helen Keller School of Alabama Commencement
Commencement exercises at Helen Keller School of Alabama (HKS) will be live-streamed at 1:30 p.m. on the HKS Facebook page.
The speaker will be Jerimie Goike, motivational speaker and self-advocate. Goike is very active in the autism community. He serves as a member of several boards and councils. Goike was appointed by the governor to the Alabama Interagency Autism Coordinating Council in 2008 and went on to serve two very exciting terms. He has been called to be a presenter and keynote speaker at a variety of autism and developmental disability conferences around the state and country.
Candidates for graduation from HKS are D’Marcus Andrews of Montgomery, Robert “Michael” Baker of Sylacauga, Shawn Brooks of Rockford, Joshua Burks of Roanoke, Amelia Cappelletti of Mobile, Jazmine Chatman of Talladega, Gavin Maples of Sylvan Springs, Jordan Moore of Mobile, Luis Ricardo Pistrana of Bessemer, Taylor Peteet of Talladega, and Victoria Whittenburg of Huntsville.
Alabama School for the Deaf Commencement
Commencement exercises at Alabama School for the Deaf (ASD) will be live-streamed at 3:30 p.m. on the ASD YouTube Channel. The speaker will be Raven Sutton, Survivor Resource Specialist for Deaf Dawn. Sutton also works as an advocate for the Deaf community as well as a content creator.
Candidates for graduation from ASD are Sasha Dailey of Montevallo, Bailey Durrett of Columbiana, Camron Edmondson of Lanett, Logan Freeman of Madison (Salutatorian), Autumn Harvey of Pelham, Tristen Jensen of Moody, Maurice Massey of Montgomery, Jessica Morris of Talladega, Mia Nelson of Florala, Alliyaah Sharpe of Montgomery, Addison Taylor of Guntersville, Chanelle Taylor of Tuscaloosa (Valedictorian), Darin Thomas of Talladega, and Cayla Tucker of Eastaboga.
Alabama School for the Blind Commencement
Commencement exercises at Alabama School for the Blind (ASB) will be live-streamed at 6:30 p.m. on the ASB Facebook page. The speaker will be Isaac Beavers, Director of the AIDB Huntsville Regional Center.
As a graduate of ASB, Beavers went on to attend The University of Alabama where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology as well as Auburn University where he earned his Masters of Education in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling. He began working at the AIDB Huntsville Regional Center as the Case Manager for the Blind before transitioning to the Regional Director in 2014.
Candidates for graduation from ASB are Zania Abdullah of Talladega, Kendall Bohannon of Mobile, Christopher Brown of Pleasant Grove, Cassius Edwards of Jacksonville, Ean Hayes Tuscumbia, Rachel Hyche of Birmingham, Landon Hussey of Phenix City, Danay Jackson of Montgomery (Salutatorian), Lacey Turner of Dadeville, Rocio Fernandez Villarreal of Birmingham, and Jacquez Wright of Bessemer (Valedictorian).