Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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After class, Hindman takes an English exam while her guide dog Kovu waits. Hindman needed extra time for the written portion of the test because of her vision impairment. I planned on commg to college and I knew getting a guide dog would be best. she said. It ' s a lot of work, but he ' s worth it. she said. Joslyn Brown Although 3-year-old Kovu Is a working dog, he knows as soon as Anna Hindman, freshman in business administration, removes his harness, he is free to act like a puppy. Hindman gave Kovu time after school each day to play. I take his harness off, but he won ' t go anywhere without me anyway. He ' s really devoted. she said. Joslyn Brown ISstudent life I

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Surrounded by students in bathing suits, Maggie Gillam, freshman in environmental design, slides down the hill. During the hottest part of the day temperatures reached 100 degrees. Christopher Hanewinckel Delta Delta Delta members Hanna Kohfeld, junior in marketing: Renee Girard, junior In intencr architecture; Andrea Oltjen, junior in hotel and restaurant management; Lindsay Bowen.juniorin mass communications; and Rachel Knight, junior in mass communications, soak up sun dunng the Slide Party. Oltjen said Tri-Delts looked forward to the party, We ' ve been going since our freshman year, Oltjen said. It ' s a nice start off to the semester. Christopher Hanewinckel slide party 17

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When Anna Hindnnan lost her vision at age 14, she struggled to ' see ' with a cane for four years until she received her guide dog, Kovu, and her life changed forever by Jessica Durham Go to the front desk, Kovu. Find the front desl . Anna Hindman, freshman in business administration, gripped the harness handle attached to Kovu, her 3-year-old black Labrador. The dog moseyed through the K-State-Salina Library, plucking a Taco Bell wrapper from a trash can. Kovu cradled the balled-up paper in his mouth so it would not crinkle, his teeth showing just enough to give the appearance of an impish grin. Hindman, who was nearly blind, suddenly sensed he was up to one of his tricks and reached down to feel his mouth. Kovu, she said, you ' re such an ornery boy. Smiling, Hindman gently took the trash from Kovu ' s mouth as she shook her head and chuckled. Kovu was more than a guide dog to Hindman. When she traveled to Kansas Specialty Dog Services in Washington, Kan., to train and bond with Kovu for 3.5 weeks, he became her lifesaver and most trusted friend. Before July, Hindman used a cane, but she said it often caused more problems than it prevented. No one in this town knows what a cane is, she said. People act like it ' s either a weapon or you ' re stupid because you have one. Then I got Kovu, and everyone knows what a seeing eye dog is. Everyone respects both of us when we ' re walking. They move and let us go by. They talk to us. Everyone is very nice when I have the dog. Hindman began losing her vision to a disease called retinitis pigmentosa at 14. The effects are similar to tunnel vision - as if she viewed everything through a toilet paper roll. She could see objects clearly and in color directly in front of her, but saw nothing to the sides, above or below. The diagnosis came as a shock - she was adopted and had no idea about the genetic problems she discovered existed with her birth parents. Ruth Hindman, her adoptive mother, was also taken by surprise. It was pretty devastating at first, because you expect everything to be perfect for your child, and then something like that happens, she said. I ' m accepting it a little bit more. I ' ve kind of learned to live for helping her. Until Kovu came along, she wouldn ' t go out after dark. Kovu takes her around things. If she didn ' t have Kovu, she ' d walk right into them if her cane didn ' t touch them first. Having Kovu instead of a cane made beginning college less intimidating for Hindman, but she still faced difficulties. I admire her courageousness, Leslie Hannah, assistant professor of English, said. It ' s tough being a college student when you have all of your faculties. But students like Anna, who came in with an obvious disability.. .there are certain ambiances of a classroom that seeing students could pick up on. Anna could not pick up on those nuances. Through repetition, she trained Kovu to find each of her classes and navigate buildings. Sometimes, Hindman and Kovu worked so efficiently together it was hard to tell she was visually impaired. My favorite quote - and I made this up - is, ' I ' m not blind, I just can ' t see where I ' m going, ' she said. That ' s my motto. Walking through a hallway after her last class. Hindman, alongside her guide dog Kovu, heads toward the bus stop just outside the Student Technology Center. Hindman made special arrangements to be dropped off and picked up daily by OCCK, Inc. Transit. Joslyn Brown anna hindmanl9 1