Rita Dunn:
CLASS OF 1984
Rich South High SchoolClass of 1984
Richton park, IL
University of Louisville - MedicineClass of 9999
Louisville, KY
university of illinois at champaignClass of 1990
Champaign, IL
Rita's Story
I am a published poet, a small business owner, a paralympic hopeful, an author, a producer, and a publisher.
I was born legally blind with Aniridia, Nystagmus and Glaucoma. I was Mainstreamed through school, and consistently made the honor roll while taking weighted classes with very little accommodations.
After being accepted to Iowa State Univ in Aerospace Engineering, I ultimately graduated from the Univ of IL Urbana-Champaign with a BA in English, and Minors in Technical Writing and Business Administration. I interviewed at Microsoft, was accepted to USC Graduate Screenwriting Program, but ultimately stayed in IL to pursue an MBA/MAccy. Family issues, however, put those plans on hold. I went through a nasty divorce, and eventually was approved for HRT and Gender Transition in 1995.
I went back to school for an MA in Comparative Literature, and finished with an MFA in Creative Writing.
In 2002, I moved to Vancouver, WA where I was contracted to build a Public Access TV station, and joined the Stagehands Union. I remarried in 2004 to Shaw...Expand for more
na Hurley of Mt Greenwood, IL, and we were together until she passed in 2019.
In 2006, we moved to Tucson, AZ where I ran a video services business and volunteered for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra.
I worked a lot of shows between 2002 and 2008, but the highlight was the 2008 Super Bowl Pregame Show. Then, in 2009, I started Half Blind Press to publish huge print calendars and planners for the visually impaired. In 2015, a number of factors forced me to cease operations despite 6 yrs of sustained growth.
In 2014, we moved to Louisville, KY to be closer to my mother who had developed dementia. She passed away in 2018 after a long struggle. Six months later, my wife passed away. And, nine months after that, at the outset of Covid, my dad passed away.
I worked as a consultant at the Univ of Louisville Medical School, and as an Air Cargo Flight Coordinator for UPS, as well as, running a small e-commerce business.
In the future, I intend to retire and become a Digital Nomad, living all over the world and writing about my life and expériences.
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