When LaShawn Harley-Hill lost her vision in 2017, she could have given up. Instead, she found strength through faith, community, and a deep determination to reclaim her independence and ultimately earn a master’s degree. 

Born in Bennettsville, South Carolina, LaShawn has called Bossier home since 2003. She spent 14 years working at LSU Hospital until her vision began to decline due to diabetes. 

“January 17, 2017, I totally lost my vision and I had a moment of deciding what I was going to do, depression kicked in,” she recalled. “But then I went to Dr. Scott Cavanaugh, and he told me about the Louisiana Association for the Blind.”

Once she began working with the Louisiana Association for the Blind (LAB), they helped her regain some independence. They taught her how to navigate with a cane, type and use assistive computer technology – skills she knew would one day help her reintegrate into society. 

In addition to the Louisiana Association for the Blind, she worked with Louisiana Rehabilitation Services, where she met Toni Collins. It was Toni who saw potential in LaShawn that she hadn’t yet seen in herself. She asked if LaShawn was interested in going back to school. 

“I was like, ‘At my age? Are you kidding me?'” she laughed. “And she was like, ‘No, let’s do it!’” 

Encouraged by support, Harley-Hill applied to Louisiana State University at Shreveport and was accepted into the Master’s in Counseling Program. She began in 2022 and proudly graduated in May 2025.

At LSUS, Harley-Hill found a strong ally in the Disability Services Office. They assisted her with teacher communication, extended test-taking and assignment time, and note-taking accommodations. This removed barriers to help her thrive.

She also received a lot of support from classmates, family, and her faith. 

“The main person who got me through it was the man upstairs – God,” she said. “If you want to be technical, he got me through it, along with others.”

During the beginning of her program, the SporTran Liftline was able to take her to and from her classes at LSUS. However, when their running schedule changed, her access to Lifeline was limited.

“Everything was an inconvenience,” she said.  

Her only options would be a rideshare service like Lyfts and Ubers, but those costs add up quickly, or she was going to need to rely heavily on her family and her classmates. Despite her worry about being an inconvenience, they stepped up and helped. 

“Thank God I had my husband and my sister and my classmates,” she recalled. “They made sure I got home, so that was a big part.” 

Now post-graduation, Harley-Hill is in the process of training to get her license to be a Licensed Professional Counselor. All because she believed in herself and surrounded herself with people who believed in her. Her manifestations in her dreams and the strong support of her family, friends and faith have allowed her to achieve and succeed.

“Don’t let anything stop you, whether you have a disability or don’t have a disability – just aim for it and don’t let anybody stop you,” she said. “You know, if you have to start slow, you’ll eventually get across the finish line.” 

Harley-Hill encourages everyone to not only be kind and treat people how you want to be treated, but to use your resources, call around, and talk to people, and you’ll find that there are so many resources in the Bossier-Shreveport area. 

Asking for help changed the trajectory of her life. 

“It doesn’t matter if you have a disability or not,” she said. “We can do things just as good as a person who doesn’t have a disability. The only thing we want is to give us a chance. Sometimes people say, ‘I don’t want to give her a chance because she has a disability, she’s in a wheelchair, she can’t see, or she’s hard of hearing.’ No, don’t count us out. Give us a chance. We could probably do the job better than a person who doesn’t have a disability. Give us an opportunity to do it.” 

Today, her story is being shared online, inspiring others to believe that it’s never too late to chase a dream, no matter the obstacle.  

“I hope that I inspire someone to follow their dreams,” she said. 

And without a doubt, she has. We are Bossier Proud of her. 

Featured image courtesy of LSUS, other images provided by LaShawn Harley-Hill