TROY – Two Troy University students and a former coach will provide first-hand accounts of disabilities at the University’s 11th annual Helen Keller Lecture April 13.

The lecture, themed “Overcoming Life’s Challenges” is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in the Claudia Crosby Theater on the Troy Campus. There is no charge for admission and the public is invited to attend. This year’s lecture is the first where University students are primary speakers.

The HelenKeller lecture is designed to promote awareness of people who excel in their chosen fields despite physical limitations. The lecture is sponsored by Troy University, the Alabama Department of Education, the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services and the Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education. Others who have presented the lecture include Erik Weihenmayer, the first person who is blind to climb Mt. Everest; Heather Whitestone, the first Miss America with a disability; and former U.S. Sen. Howell Heflin, a friend of the Keller family.

This year’s lecture, moderated by WSFA anchor Tonya Terry, features former Lady Trojan Softball player Tara Blackwell, paralyzed by a fall last year, Donovan Beitel, a legally blind adult University student, and former Alabama School for the Deaf basketball coach Don Hackney, who has a spinal cord injury.

Also planned during the Helen Keller Lecture Series week is “Children with Disabilities Artwork Exhibit,” located on the second floor of the Trojan Center. TROY students will vote on favorite pieces of artwork submitted by Troy-area middle- and high-school special education classes. That exhibit is open Monday, April 10 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

On April 11, “What You Don’t See May be Blinding,” a brown-bag luncheon, will be presented by Rose Marie Pilarcyzk from 12 p.m. until 1 p.m. in the Collegeview Room 29. Information regarding diabetes and how it causes blindness when left untreated and undiagnosed will be presented.

On April 12, the Trojan Center lobby will house the “Disability Awareness Display” from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Information will be available on a wide range of disability related topics.

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