Zahra, who is currently pursuing a degree in media studies, would use the Holman Prize to travel and meet with visually impaired students around the world, in countries including Canada, the United States and Scandinavia, in order to gather a wealth of information for a database project she is calling VIAdvisor.
2018 Candidates
Joshua Pearson
Joshua, an accessibility specialist and folk singer, would use the Holman Prize to record under-the-radar musicians around the world, in countries including the United Kingdom, Thailand, Vietnam and more.
Dennis Billups
Dennis, a longtime Disability Rights activist, would use the Holman Prize to lead leadership trainings for people with disabilities across the United States and around the world.
Sharmese Anderson
Sharmese, a longtime advocate for the blind and low-vision community, would use the Holman Prize to design an accessible party bus to transport her and her peers to indoor skydiving, horseback riding, skiing trips and more.
Michael McCulloch
Michael, a retired aerospace engineer, would use the Holman Prize to produce an audio described documentary film about his upcoming hiking trek to Machu Pichu, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. He would also write a book entitled “The Blind Man’s Guide to Machu Picchu,” containing hiking instruction, tips and more.
Brendan Patrick
Brendan, a visual artist and musician, would use the Holman Prize to fund a tour for his rock band, the Wretched Souls, and document his travels with a podcast and film.
Dario Sorgato
Dario, the founder of NoisyVision, an international association for people with sensory disabilities, would use the Holman Prize to travel from Milan, Italy to Mumbai, India, raising money to research Retinitis Pigmentosa along the way.
Nicole Schultz-Kass
Nicole, a vocational rehabilitation counselor and YouTube blogger, would use the Holman Prize to interview and adventure with blind and low-vision people in 25 different locations around the United States, compiling the experiences on her YouTube channel, “CraftyBlindChick.”
Edward Babin
Edward, a songwriter, producer and entrepreneur who performs as Eddy Echo, would use the Holman Prize to organize a showcase for blind and visually impaired musicians in New York City.
Divyanshu Ganatra
Divyanshu, an entrepreneur and avid paraglider, would use the Holman Prize to facilitate mountaineering, rock climbing, scuba diving, paragliding and more for both his visually-impaired and sighted peers, with the hope of creating a larger dialogue around disability.