Kaitlyn Kellermeyer lost her ability to read maps when she went blind in 2014. With Wooten’s maps, she can now navigate campus without relying solely on memory or auditory clues.
Kellermeyer, a senior economics student, became blind in March of 2014 when she was a freshman at Texas A&M. The Double Oak, Texas, native lost sight in her left eye when she was a toddler. Doctors attempted many risky surgeries to prevent her from losing sight in her right eye — the last of which left her completely blind.
“It was very hard at first,” she said. “I lost my sight in the middle of the spring semester.
But Kellermeyer did not drop out of school.
“My friends created this little network of support,” she said. “They’d walk me between classes. They’d read me things. They’d go to class with me and in some cases help me take notes. That was really awesome.”
Even though Kellermeyer had seen campus before, she didn’t realize how difficult it would be to find her way around.
“I had memories of where everything was relationally,” she said. “With all the open space on campus, and with the lack of auditory cues, I didn’t realize how hard it would be to get around.”
Kellermeyer describes that semester as frustrating and upsetting. She felt alone and stuck to a very strict path around campus, never veering off course for fear of getting lost.
When Wooten approached her about the maps, Kellermeyer was delighted. She missed being able to look at a map to get a bird’s-eye view of an area.
“When I lost my sight, I lost the ability to use a map,” she said. “This has been awesome for me to have that ability again.”
Now Kellermeyer has more freedom to explore. She’s even used the map to help her sighted friends find buildings on campus.
Wanting to make a difference
What started as an idea to help others may now be an opportunity for Wooten to become an entrepreneur.
“I had never met a visually impaired or blind person before in my life,” he said. “But I recognized the problems those people could be faced with, and I wanted to make a difference.”
After speaking with Kellermeyer, Wooten went home and downloaded SolidWorks, the software used to design 3-D-printed items. Wooten got to work right away, printing the first of many maps that week.
“She shrieked the first time she held it,” he said of Kellermeyer. “It was awesome to see it transform from an idea to something that could actually help.”
Each map takes roughly 10 hours to complete. Wooten would drive to College Station twice a week over the summer, working long hours in the EIC. His persistence paid off.
Wooten has also designed 3-D-printed tactile maps for Westbrook Intermediate School in League City, Texas, and the Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living in Bryan, Texas. He recently taught his friend how to use SolidWorks and said he’s preparing for an increase in demand. Without really trying, Wooten’s 3-D printed maps have become a small business — one with far-reaching benefits.