Apple News And Features: Blind Engineer Helping Others Transform Their Own Lives [VIDEO]
When Apple introduced the original Mac more than 30 years ago, the device's instruction manual included a special section in large print explaining how people with visual impairment can use the accessibility features included in the computer. Now, in the age of iPhones and iPads, Apple's Accessibility Features are better than ever. Just ask Jordyn Castor, one of Apple's engineers working on the tech giant's VoiceOver accessibility.
Castor is just 22 years old, and she happens to be visually-impaired herself. In fact, due to her being born 15 weeks premature, Castor was born blind. She was so small when she was born that she quite literally fit in the palm of her grandfather's hand. Due to her premature delivery, doctors did not expect her to live very long.
As it turns out, however, Castor has a penchant for beating expectations. As she grew, she eventually became interested in the tech industry. There were even times when adults in her household would give her a gadget and tell her to figure out how it is used.
"I realized then I could code on the computer to have it fulfill the tasks I wanted it to. I came to realize that with my knowledge of computers and technology, I could help change the world for people with disabilities. I could help make technology more accessible for blind users," she told Mashable recently.
Last year, while she was still studying at Michigan State University, she was introduced to Apple at a job fair in Minneapolis. Impressed with her drive and motivation, Apple hired her as an intern.
Her skills as an engineer and as a specialist in tech accessibility have proven her worthy of a full-time position in the tech giant. After her internship was over, she was hired full-time as an engineer in Apple's accessibility design and quality department.
Working with the same technology that has inspired her to pursue a career in the tech industry, Castor has taken on the challenge of making computing devices friendlier to the visually impaired community. When she attended the National Federation of the Blind, Castor remarked how much Apple's Accessibility Features are being used on a daily basis by people with visual impairment.
"When I walk through the convention, I hear VoiceOver everywhere. Being able to give back through something that so many people use is amazing," she said.
