Hulrick Baptist, COMS
Hulrick first discovered the exciting field of Orientation and Mobility while completing his Bachelor’s degree in Social Work at Oakwood University. In an unprecedented trip, Dr. James Leja traveled to Oakwood to recruit for the Blindness and Low Vision program at Western Michigan University. Though he hadn’t planned on attending the recruitment session, Hulrick did attend, and as a result, he changed his plans of pursuing a Master’s of Social Work degree and received a full scholarship to study at Western. Upon completing a vigorous O&M internship at Hines VA hospital, Hulrick came into contact with Russell Rieder and subsequently joined the team at IB West.
“As a part of the IB West team, it has been a true learning experience transitioning from Center based O&M to Itinerate O&M. This move has challenged me to rise to a new level of creativity in lesson planning and selecting training environments to best fit the needs of a diverse client base. I have been blessed to work along side a great group of professionals dedicated to serving, inspiring, and empowering the visually impaired of West Florida.”