Baltimore, MD—Blind and visually impaired students from across Maryland and the surrounding region competed in the 13th annual Maryland Regional Braille Challenge on February 5th.

The event and subsequent award ceremony, hosted by the Maryland School for the Blind and the Maryland State Department of Education, were held virtually again this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the winners recently announced.

The Braille Challenge®, a program of the Braille Institute, is the only academic competition for blind students in the United States and Canada. During the event, participants, ages 4 to 19, competed in five challenging categories requiring them to read and type braille. Each category is designed to test their braille skills in several areas – reading comprehension, braille spelling, chart and graph reading, proofreading and braille speed and accuracy. Contestants are grouped into six levels, according to age.

Students complete preliminary testing across the country from January through March in hopes of qualifying for the top 50 spots available in the national competition and the opportunity to compete against the top blind students from across the United States and Canada in June. The national qualifiers will be announced at a later date.

The 1st place winners of the Maryland Regional Braille Challenge included Henry Tucker of Bowie, MD (Freshman; grades 3-4); Eniola Osunkoya of Perry Hall, MD, (Sophomore, grades 5-6); Naomi-Jean Mills of Woodbridge, VA (Junior Varsity, grades 7-9); and Sujan Dhakal of Perry Hall, MD (Varsity, grades 10-12). Sujan Dhakal was also the top scorer and Elizabeth Ricobonno of Baltimore was the most improved participant.

Jeremiah Mude of Nanticoke, MD was the recipient of the 4th annual Sidney Iubelt Memorial Spirit Award. The award was established in memory of MSB student, Sidney Iubelt, an avid participant of the MD Braille Challenge and a champion of the spirit of braille literacy.

Mindy Demaris of Wicomico County was nominated for the Braille Insitute’s 2022 Teacher of the Year in Excellence in Braille Instruction Award.