Notre Dame Prep graduate ('14) and Michigan State University freshman Caroline Kelly was chosen last week as a Tower Guard at the university for the 2015-16 term. Kelly was chosen as one of 77 members of the 7,800 students in the freshman class. They learned of their honor at an early morning April 17 ceremony in front of the John W. Beaumont Memorial Tower, located on the north campus of MSU.
Only the top five percent of MSU freshmen, or about 400 students, are asked to apply to be a member of the organization that focuses on assisting MSU students and employees who are visually impaired or have another reading-related impairment. In order to be chosen for Tower Guard, members must exemplify leadership, scholarship, outstanding character and commitment to service.
Founded at MSU in 1932, Tower Guard is the oldest continuously active student organization on campus whose members’ main function is to devote at least four hours per week to assisting MSU students who are visually impaired or have another reading-related impairment. Their time is spent reading exams and/or translating textbooks and other print materials into an accessible format through the MSU Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD). Most reading for the blind is done by Tower Guard, thus maintaining MSU’s outstanding service to students with disabilities.
From MSU: “For more than 80 years, Tower Guard has exemplified a legacy of Spartan tradition, leadership, and commitment to serving persons with disabilities. The efforts of Tower Guard have provided quality accessible education for students of the RCPD, producing textbook copies in Braille, e-text, and more.”
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.