Brian Celusnak
From Leader Dog to Campus
Photo caption: Brian and Armor are nearly inseparable on Western’s campus. Armor now stays behind when Brian attends football games because he was bothered by the cannon shots that are fired when a touchdown is made. After taking his father to a football game, Brian had to admit that Armor is better at guiding him around the bleachers and sidewalks than his own dad.
“I really like being on my own for the first time. It’s such a big change that it can be shocking at times, but it’s exciting. The dorm is okay, but the phone in the room is so old it actually has a cord.”
Talking with Brian Celusnak is like talking to any college freshman. They’re enjoying their first taste of freedom from Mom and Dad, getting into the swing of classes and schedules, and telling you about last weekend’s football game. Brian is no different. Like many other freshman, he’s rooming with one of his best friends – his Leader Dog “Armor.”
“In many ways, Leader Dog was just as important as high school in getting me here,” Brian explains. “I spent a lot of time at Leader Dog. After receiving my varsity letter for wrestling, my parents wanted me to stop because I was getting injured; shortly after I went to Leader Dog for orientation & mobility training to increase my cane travel skills. When I told Harold Abraham, tech services director at LDB, that I was bored because I had stopped wrestling, he told me to ‘get a job.’ So I began volunteering in LDB’s tech services department.”
Brian took advantage of everything Leader Dog has to offer. In 2007 he attended Trekker Camp and learned how to use an auditory GPS device to navigate new environments.
During his senior year of high school he interned in the tech services department. Brian returned to Trekker Camp in 2008, this time as a counselor helping other teenagers have a positive experience while at LDB. He finished his dog guide training with Armor just months before starting at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.
Photo caption: Brian takes notes on a Braille Writer during his biology lecture. While he learns, Armor is content sleeping under the seat next to him.
The skills and independence Brian gained at LDB came in handy at Western. “The first few days on campus were a bit like going through a corn maze, I’m really glad I had my Trekker. It allowed me to navigate campus and input the buildings my classes are in as ‘points of interest.’ This way I could quickly find my way around campus on my own.” As for Armor, after just a few weeks into the semester, he patterned himself to Brian’s class and work schedule.
A few things have proven a challenge, like the sloping sidewalks on campus. Brian has cerebral palsy and stopping on a down slope can be quite an effort. “But Armor’s there to help me navigate campus,” Brian explains, “He helps me keep my pace steady which increases my stability.” And there’s the time he locked himself out of his dorm at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning when taking Armor to relieve himself. “I just knocked on the door and yelled until someone came to let us in. I was probably the only student on campus awake at that time. I can guarantee I’ll never forget my key again,” he laughs.
Like many freshman, when you ask Brian about his college goals, you get an answer that goes way beyond the college years. He is majoring in Interdisciplinary Health Services and plans a master’s degree in Blindness and Low Visions Studies with the ultimate goal of teaching others who are visually impaired. “I want to teach people to advocate for themselves so they can succeed in life.
I’m doing it, I’m living it, why not help someone else succeed.”