Champion Blind Sailor, Alumnus Chao Speaking at Perkins Graduation

Seventeen students of the Perkins School for the Blind will receive diplomas and certificates of accomplishment in a ceremony marked by music, pageantry and tradition today, Friday, June 14.

Commencement speaker Matt Chao, Class of 1972, will tell graduating seniors how his Perkins education inspired him to become a six-time U.S. Blind Sailing National Champion.

The graduation takes place at 11 a.m. in Dwight Hall in the Howe Building. 

Fresh off his team’s Bronze Medal performance in the Blind Sailing World Championship Regatta in Japan, Chao will tell the Class of 2013 how his Perkins education helped him build a life full of adventure and accomplishment. 

A six-time U.S. Blind Sailing National Champion, Chao was described by US Sailing as “an innovator in disabled sailing and a role model for all sailors.” He will appear in an upcoming documentary about the sport of blind sailing entitled, "Sense the Wind."

Professionally, Chao works as an Educational Instructor at the Bay State Correctional Center in Norfolk, overseeing inmates who produce braille books for school children.

Anton Sviridenko, the senior Class speaker, is a talented, multi-instrumental musician who plays piano, violin, guitar, accordion, flute, harmonica and drums. He will continue his education at the Berklee College of Music.