Rising Star Paul Mayfield
Paul Mayfield is a Grand Rapids native and graduate of Ottawa Hills High School, class of 1992. He recently received the "Rising Star Award" on August 11, 2022, from the Grand Rapids Lions' Club.
The "Rising Star Award" honors a young adult with severe vision loss whose independence and confidence are growing and who is showing evidence of a promising future and demonstrating their ability to thrive in a sighted world.
Paul was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP ), when he was seven years old at a time (1980's) when medicines and technology didn't know very much about the disease.
The doctor told Paul at the age of seven that he would be totally blind by the age of twenty.
He nor his family knew what to make of this grim prognosis.
As a result, Paul studied hard and set his mind on the future and graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor's degree in Teaching and a master's degree in Teaching and Curriculum.
After graduating, Paul moved to San Diego, California and taught sixth grade, all subjects. Paul then moved on to work for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Seattle, Washington, where he taught environmental education to elementary students.
After leaving Seattle, Paul moved to Detroit and taught social studies to junior high students for over twelve years.
Teaching is Paul's greatest passion, however, as he entered his 14thyear of teaching, His grim prognosis of going blind began too quickly manifest.
Paul began to lose his vision at a fast rate. He did not have the prerequisite skills needed to maneuver as a blind teacher.
This was a devastating time for Paul, and he felt unequipped to be an effective teacher.
He didn't properly prepare for this drastic transition and as a result was unable to keep pace with the required daily objectives. So…. Paul retired from teaching. During this difficult time, Mayfield really missed his students and coworkers, so he then decided to go to the Bureau Services for Blind People in Kalamazoo, Michigan to learn how to become an effective blind teacher.
Mr. Mayfield spent the next few years trying to transition into being blind in a sighted world. He became sad, isolated and uncertain about his future.
Then one day by word of mouth, Paul heard about an organization called "Friends with Disabilities" (FWD).
He became intrigued by the information that he had received and became eager to see how he could get involved.
He was extremely impressed with FWD professionalism, kindness, and activities.
After participating in a few activities and fieldtrips, he then decided to dedicate all of his free time to the organization.
His experience with the organization helped meet his desire to help others change their lives while also bridging the gap between his isolation and living a fruitful life.
To fulfill the need to help others, he joined Friends with Disabilities as a volunteer. He then moved from volunteering to becoming the Director of Operations. Since Paul is from Grand Rapids, he decided FWD should also be in Grand Rapids. Lately Paul has been working on developing a site in Grand Rapids. He is currently the Executive Director and will be recruiting volunteers and participants. Since all activities are free to participants, Paul is seeking funding of any amount...
www.friendswithdis-abilties.org Paul Mayfield 1-248-460-6070
Despite going blind, Paul continues to have a positive attitude and looks forward to the future. If you know of anyone who could benefit from FWD, please don't hesitate to call Paul. He is here to change lives.
Paul's future plans are to continue to operate FWD and to return to teaching.
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