{"id":1017003,"date":"2026-08-22T12:23:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T12:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1017003\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T12:23:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T12:23:20","slug":"san-antonio-woman-wins-international-braille-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1017003\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio woman wins international Braille competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Jean Olech and her husband brought their new daughter EmmaGrace home after adopting her from China at six years old, they weren\u2019t sure what to expect. The Oleches knew EmmaGrace was visually impaired, but the Chinese government-regulated system didn\u2019t provide a lot of information about her condition.<\/p>\n

Jean said they expected a child with a visual impairment would be \u201cvery timid and cautious\u201d and that there would have to be a lot of \u201ccoaxing to get her to navigate\u201d her new surroundings. <\/p>\n

EmmaGrace, however, had other plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first day home, she was running up and down the stairs like she\u2019d lived there her whole life,\u201d Jean told the San Antonio Report during a recent interview. \u201cThat should have been our first clue that she was a go-getter. She totally blew us away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now 18 years old, EmmaGrace, who was born with the rare genetic condition known as blue cone monochromacy, which affects her ability to see color and fine detail, is still impressing everyone with her determination and fearlessness. This fall, she is attending Texas A&M University in College Station to study biomedical science.<\/p>\n

\"\"EmmaGrace Olech and her mom Jean Olech talk about plans for the fall as EmmaGrace prepares to start college at Texas A&M University College Station this month. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Earlier this summer, EmmaGrace won first place in the varsity division of the 2026 Braille Challenge<\/a>, an international academic competition for students who are blind or visually impaired that promotes Braille literacy through tests of reading comprehension, spelling, speed and accuracy, proofreading and tactile charts and graphs. Of the more than 2,000 competitors worldwide this year, only 50 students were selected to compete in the finals at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

According to the National Federation of the Blind, approximately 90% of employed adults who are blind are Braille literate, underscoring a strong connection between Braille proficiency and employment.<\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing Braille gives those who are visually impaired a gateway to independence,\u201d Dimitri Kales, CEO of the Braille Institute, said in a statement. \u201cWe celebrate and recognize the importance of Braille reading and writing. These students are all winners and an inspiration to us all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mastering the Challenge<\/p>\n

EmmaGrace has competed across all levels (apprentice through varsity) of the Braille Challenge since the third grade. This was her third year competing in the varsity division. She placed second in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"San Antonian EmmaGrace Olech took first place at the 2026 Braille Challenge in the varsity division in June. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

In the third grade, one of EmmaGrace\u2019s teachers told her about the competition. Regionals were held at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Austin every year, so EmmaGrace began to attend.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started off as more of a recreational experience,\u201d she said. \u201cThere was reading comprehension and proofreading \u2014 things I was already doing in school.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also competed in events such as Charts and Graphs, in which students are given tactile graphics and must analyze them to answer questions, and Speed and Accuracy, in which they listen to an audio passage and transcribe it into Braille using a device called a brailler.<\/p>\n

As she got older, the competition became even more challenging. Students were expected to correctly spell French words and transcribe excerpts from writers such as Charles Dickens and Mark Twain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, we\u2019d get passages about Japanese art, and we\u2019d have to figure out how to spell all the words,\u201d EmmaGrace explained. \u201cYou\u2019d have to remember how to spell everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"EmmeGrace reads out a portion of braille that she typed out with her trusty Perkins Brailler. The brailler is EmmaGrace\u2019s primary practice tool and what she works with during her braille competitions. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Besides the actual competition, EmmaGrace said she\u2019s always enjoyed the Braille Challenge because of the people she\u2019s met and the community she\u2019s found along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get to connect with each other and share our goals and the challenges we have in school and help each other out,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve made a lot of lasting friendships.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building Her Future<\/p>\n

Now headed to Texas A&M University, EmmaGrace is setting new goals for herself. She hopes to one day become a medicinal chemist to \u201cdevelop and improve on medicines,\u201d with a particular interest in the nervous and immune systems.<\/p>\n

During high school, she supplemented her homeschool curriculum with college classes. Her first introduction to chemistry came when she got the opportunity to do some research in a biochemistry lab at Baylor University.<\/p>\n

\"\"EmmaGrace Olech demonstrates how she uses a variety of braille computing systems for note taking and learning at her home. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

\u201cThat really drew me to chemistry,\u201d she said. \u201cThen, I took a nutrition class my senior year. I really enjoyed learning about how nutrition affects the body. I realized I wanted to do something with medicine. I really like the physiology aspect of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother is confident EmmaGrace is going to excel in college. She thinks back to that little girl they brought home 12 years ago, who bravely took on the world from the moment she arrived.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s determined, inquisitive, motivated and she doesn\u2019t ever stop,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m so excited for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

For EmmaGrace, the Braille Challenge has been about much more than winning competitions. The skills in Braille she\u2019s developed over the years have given her a foundation for tackling complex subjects. It\u2019s something she believes can make a difference for other students who are blind or visually impaired.<\/p>\n

\u201cBraille is the baseline to accessing so many more resources,\u201d EmmaGrace said. \u201cIt unlocks the door to learning higher math, tactile graphics, difficult texts and foreign languages. Even if there are obstacles, it\u2019ll give students the keys to success.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Jean Olech and her husband brought their new daughter EmmaGrace home after adopting her from China at…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1017004,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5133],"tags":[406969,5229,406970,406971,406972,406973,7202,7203,358,406974,7453,3187,7815,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,11016,367352,20705],"class_list":["post-1017003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-2026-braille-challenge","tag-america","tag-braille","tag-emmagrace-olech","tag-exas-school-for-the-blind-and-visually-impaired","tag-national-federation-of-the-blind","tag-san-antonio","tag-sanantonio","tag-texas","tag-texas-am-university-in-college-station","tag-top-story","tag-tx","tag-typedaily","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-usc","tag-visual-impairment","tag-wc-750-1000"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117139147212662006","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1017003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1017003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1017003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1017004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1017003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1017003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1017003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}