life Carlos Servan Changed irrevocably in a matter of seconds. However, his career is not just that of a survivor, but one of a global reference for improvement and leadership. After losing his sight and his right hand during police training in Peru, he was forced to rebuild himself from scratch, a path that would lead him to… Succeed in the United States As a lawyer, mentor, and advocate for the rights of people with visual impairment.
At the age of twenty-three, after an accident that led to the loss of his hand and sight, Servan emigrated with the aim of rebuilding his life. More than three decades later, he has proven that adversity can open unexpected opportunities.
On April 1, 1986, at the Barbadillo Ranch, Ate District, in Lima, Servan participated in a field exercise as a student in Peruvian Investigative Police (PIP) Officers School. He tripped over a mud-covered grenade and the explosion was his fate, leaving him completely blind and losing his right hand. Carlos Servan said: “Today became an eternal night, and the light went out.” PeruvianHe remembers the last photo his eyes took in the hills of Lima. The immediate thought was of her mother, who had already lost her husband the year before. He told the same outlet: “I was hesitant about dying. It would be a tragedy for my mother.”
He spent the first year after the accident trying to regain his sight to no avail. For the next two years he focused on finding income and combating depression. He soon found out In Peru there are no opportunities for people with visual impairments. “Everyone talked to me about prosthetics and that they were going to take me to the United States,” Servan explained. “I felt like they were treating me differently, with sympathy, and I didn’t like that.”
At the age of twenty-three, and hoping to find better conditions, he decided to do so Immigration to the United States. The path was complicated: he learned Braille, had to use his left hand, and mastered English, carpentry and computing. “I will not allow myself to remain prostrate,” Servan said. Peruvian. He attended the University of New Mexico where he earned a doctorate in law and a master’s degree in public administration. In 1992 he received the main grant from NFB Ezra Davis Memoriala great recognition in his academic career.
Servan’s career has expanded its boundaries into the social sphere. As he progressed in his studies, he became… A guide for blind students and a leader in organizations such as the National Federation of the Blind and the National Association of Blind Students (NABS). “Becoming blind shocked me. I thought I wouldn’t be productive and I struggled to be productive. That’s why I tried to work with the blind, I wanted to help,” he said.
Carlos Servan has currently resided in the United States for thirty-four years. At 57, he has started a family, which he considers essential to his process of improving himself. Today is Executive Director of the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impairedis part of the Executive Committee of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind and participates in the National Rehabilitation Association and the National Council of State Directors of Vocational Rehabilitation.
His experience also took him to the literary field. He published it, inspired by his colleagues and those who listened to his lectures Running dreams (in English) and Learning from the darkreport presented in Lima. Servan confirmed to the aforementioned media: “I have been able to move forward thanks to my ability to be flexible and improve. Everything depends on myself.” His testimony indicates that, In the darkThere is always a chance to regain the light through determination and fighting spirit.