From adversity to a university

When he graduated from high school in 2000, Jeff Peters‘ future seemed predestined: he went to Tarrant County College for a higher education, hoping to major in marketing and advertising. But he failed and dropped out of the college.

Then one fateful October day his life took a different path.

What took place on Oct. 16, 2001, changed Peters’ life forever. He accidentally dropped a loaded shotgun that fired through his chin and shattered part of his face. After two months of hospitalization and over 40 reconstructive surgeries, Peters is a different person, not only in the physical sense but also in many other intangible ways.

Losing his eyesight in the accident proved difficult to Peters at first, but to him, disability did not equate to inability. His mind and other sensory functions were not impaired in any way. They are now even enhanced.

“I had to learn everything over again. At first I had a hard time,” the 23-year-old rock music enthusiast said. “Over time I got used to it and became more aware of my hearing.”

Since fall 2003, Peters has returned as a North Lake student. Nahid Pope, Peters’ advisor in the Disability Office, recalled how Peters has changed from being shy to a confident individual. “His education has changed him. He’s been more outgoing and comfortable with himself,” she said.

His father, Terry Peters, also noticed the transformation. “The transition from being sighted to not sighted has forced him to be more focused on school, where his future is,” said his father.

Refusing to accept his limitation, Peters shows he can excel academically. In fact, unlike his first college experience, now Peters’ class performance has become the envy of other students.

His fellow classmate, Mariam Foukih, said, “He’s very intelligent by the way he hears and touches things.” The pre-med sophomore added that, unlike most people, Peters could retain much information just by hearing it.

Peters can even visualize graphs and figures with ease, as interpreter for the Disability Office Adrienne Kearney, who helped him in his math class, testified.

But perhaps the most impressive transformation has been his personality and attitude, as Peters himself admitted. His sense of humor has won him friends right and left. The second-year psychology major said, “I’m more compassionate now, and I like people a lot more.”

His father added, “We know each other a lot more now than we did before.”

Print shop manager Mike Denning said Peters showed a lot of character and personality, which he considered very rare these days, the same observation echoed by another student, Theresa Janiszewski. “He gets along with everybody,” Janiszewski said.

For almost two years, a yellow Labrador dog named Michael has been a faithful companion to Peters as he maneuvers from class to class around the campus. Michael has also been an attraction that draws people to Peters constantly.

A dog lover, Amy Willingham of the Workforce Language Department knew Peters because of Michael. They have been good friends ever since. “He puts a smile on your face no matter what,” Willingham said of Peters.

His tenacity to overcome incalculable odds does not stop here. Peters has a brighter ambition ahead. Next year he will transfer to the University of Texas at Dallas to study psychology.

“I’m going to miss North Lake,” said Peters, speaking of his second home, a place that has changed him so much.

Now, as with every passing Thanksgiving and Christmas, many people have things to be thankful for. But as he has throughout the years, Peters seems to reiterate the same message that most people have overlooked: He is thankful to be alive.

“Don’t take life for granted, because it may not always be there,” Peters said with much emotion.

“Live a life in a way where you can look back and say you did something with your life to make a difference.”