Commencement speaker shares unique vision
By Charlene Serra
Commencement speaker Michael G. May doesn't just have a few
words of inspiration for LPC's graduating students—he's
got an entire lifetime of inspiration to share.
Blinded at the age of three by a chemical explosion and only
recently having recovered his sight through surgery, May has
taken the adversity he faced and turned it into a lifetime of
seeking out challenges and achieving impressive goals in his
education, business, and personal life.
Big dreams, big ventures
His story is truly inspiring. After obtaining his Master's
Degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International
Studies, May worked in the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters
in McLean, Virginia, as a political risk analyst. He subsequently
moved to the West Coast to work for Bank of California and then
for TRW/ESL to develop a new business area for high-tech political
risk assessment.
In 1984 he joined with three colleagues from ESL to start
Finial Technology, developer of the world's first Laser Turntable,
which has been marketed and distributed worldwide. He founded
two more entrepreneurial ventures in Oregon—Maytek Products
and CustomEyes Computer Systems, which he eventually sold to
join Arkenstone in Silicon Valley in 1995 as vice president of
sales.
In 1999 May started a new program, Sendero Group, which combines
the skills of high-tech professionals with orientation experts
to provide talking digital maps and Global Positional System
navigation services for the blind or visually impaired. Sendero
Group's headquarters are in Davis, Ca., with five locations spread
between Silicon Valley and Vienna, Austria. May is the president
and CEO.
May's current challenge is to see the dream of a talking GPS
navigation and information system for blind people become a reality.
To further the efforts of his causes and ventures, he has
met with numerous sports figures, entertainment celebrities and
politicians, including top U.S. government officials.
"It will not be long before we see Mike and others wearing
GPS devices on their wrists," said Vice President Al Gore
at a White House ceremony in 1996.
Success on the slopes
May holds the downhill speed skiing record of 65 mph for a
totally blind person.
After May competed in the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics, President
Ronald Reagan said, "Mike, you and the other competitors
here are testimony to all young people that they should never
be afraid to dream big dreams and they should never hesitate
to try to make those dreams a reality."
"I chose speed skiing because it is the best form of
competition for a blind person against a sighted person,"
May said. "Skiing is a very visual sport and slalom, for
example, demands precise visual judgement. Speed skiing, on the
other hand, requires little in terms of visual judgement."
Mentor to many
Not content with his own successes, May is an active mentor
to others as well. He received the prestigious American Foundation
for the Blind Kay Gallegher award, recognizing his mentoring
roles in various national organizations, including Discovery
Blind Sports, United States Association of Blind Athletes, San
Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind, Peninsula Center for the
Blind, Sensory Access Foundation, and Project Hired.
May will deliver the commencement address at LPC's graduation
ceremony on May 20 at 10 a.m. on the LPC field.
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© 2000 by Las Positas College Express