Caity Mathews has a visual impairment, but she’s not an impaired person. This senior at Parkview School is so much more.

“She is a great student leader. It comes naturally to Caity,” said Laci Goins, English teacher. “She’s not afraid to jump in there when she sees someone needs help.”

Allison Garner, family and career sciences teacher at Parkview, said Caity, 17, is a perfect transplanted Okie.

“Our little people love Caity,” Garner said. “I know it’s really important to Caity that she and other students be positive role models for our young people.”

Caity started living at the Oklahoma School for the Blind her freshman year.

When she first arrived, science teacher Cheryl Daniels said, she wasn’t interested in doing anything and was a bit difficult.

“It’s just amazing to see how she’s changed since she came here,” Daniels said. “She no longer lets her visual impairment stop her from doing anything she wants to.”

And what she wants to do is be a leader, both Daniels and Garner said.

Caity volunteers to help out with the younger students after school, hanging out in the rec center serving snacks, chatting with students and playing.

She is her class vice president, president of the Student Council, DECA president, co-captain in cheerleading, FCCLA board member and more.

“She’s very humble ,and sometimes I don’t think she realizes how much we appreciate what she does,” Daniels said.

Caity also organized the Parkview Pink-Out fundraiser in October, culminating with the entire student body strolling through Civitan Park decked out in pink for breast cancer awareness.

Her leadership ability is why Garner calls Caity a true “Okie from Muskogee.”

But, the younger students don’t think of Caity as a student leader, class president, or just another student at Parkview.

Many of them think of her as a big sister, Caity said.

“When I was little, whenever I saw bigger kids I thought, ‘Oh they are so cool’,” Caity said.

“I want to help give younger kids guidance now, help them feel good about themselves and maybe someday they’ll remember me as that girl that helped them out.”

Visual impairment

no longer a burden

Caity Mathews attended public schools much of her life, but wasn’t doing well in that setting, she said.

Being visually impaired was a hindrance to making friends, fitting in and participating in school activities.

“In public school the word blind was negative,” Caity said. “Here, it’s a joke. We can say, ‘You can’t see that silly, you’re blind,’ and just laugh about it. It’s just not a sensitive topic here.”

At public school, Caity said, it seemed that other students were uncomfortable with her, afraid to say something that would offend, and consequently, afraid to get close.

“Here you can be yourself,” Caity said. “It’s one reason I really like it here.”

At Parkview, she calls herself a social butterfly.

“In public school I didn’t want to tell someone I am blind when I meet people,” Caity said. “Now, here, it’s a lot easier to socialize, to get involved.

“I was able to build character and become my own person here — when I used to be the girl who never talked.”



Being a role

model for others

Caity spends a lot of her free time hanging with the younger students.

She plays with them, ties shoes and sometimes gets wrestled to the ground, laughing.

Jillian Matthews, 9, is one of Caity’s favorite “playmates.”

They hang out in the rec center and talk, wrestle and just have fun — much like two sisters.

“It really is like a family. We all really love each other even if we don’t always get along,” Caity said of her fellow students. “There’s just that general love for everybody.”

Jillian didn’t have time to talk about Caity. She just wanted to wrestle and laugh.

“She always beats me up,” Caity said, laughing.

Jillian shook her head, turned a bit pink, and gave Caity a sidelong glance and an impish grin.

Then she chased Caity around the room a little while, they wrestled a bit, and strolled arm-in-arm to the cafeteria for lunch.

“Jillian jokes that we are really sisters, because our last name is the same,” Caity said.

Caity feels like what every big sister is to her younger schoolmates — a mentor, someone to hug, someone to chase, and just have fun with, she said.

“Being a good role model is really important. For kids to grow up with good values, they have to see a good example,” Caity said.



Growing up a

community leader

Could Caity be the next young Muskogee mayor?

If she wants to she can do anything, said her science teacher, Cheryl Daniels.

However, politics doesn’t hold much sway with Caity, so don’t expect her to run for mayor.

Instead, she’s interested in journalism, psychology and criminal profiling.

“I like to write and I like people. I like to tell a good story,” Caity said. “What really interests me is what’s behind people’s actions too, their backgrounds, how it affects people.

“I always wanted to be a cop but, with a visual impairment you have limitations on what you can do.”

“Caity definitely cares about the well-being of others,” Garner said.

Being a psychologist may be the way she goes.

“I like helping people,” Caity said. “Maybe I can give them a new outlook, change how they feel about themselves.”

Daniels, who took Caity to space camp last year, said she’s seen the teen’s leadership skills and confidence blossom over the last three years.

“She doesn’t let her visual impairments slow her down at all,” Daniels said. “I have high hopes for Caity’s future. I think she’ll do anything she sets her mind to. She’ll be successful.”

Meet Caity Mathews

AGE: 15.

HOMETOWN: Originally Durant, now Muskogee.

CAREER: “I’m a student at Oklahoma School for the Blind. I want to be a journalist, criminal profiler or psychologist someday.”

EDUCATION: “I’m a senior in high school.”

HOBBIES: “I collect Snoopy stuff — and it’s really hard to find these days. I love reading and writing. James Patterson is my favorite author.”