Nelnet IT Accessibility Engineer Ronniesha Samuels-Lawrence learned about the importance of digital accessibility as a computer science major at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs — not in the classroom, but in the library.
While looking for a computer science-related internship, Ronniesha took a part-time job at her college’s library and upgraded the library’s website. “I worked on making the website accessible, and that was the first time I encountered accessibility,” she says. “As part of that job I went through training, where I learned more about digital accessibility and why it’s needed.”
The training resonated with Ronniesha because it featured Christine Hà, a blind chef who participated in season three of “MasterChef,” a competitive cooking TV show that Ronniesha loves. “Spoiler alert: Christine won that season,” she says, “and in that training she talked about how she is able to use the Internet as a blind person.”
Highlighting the Need
Ronniesha’s memorable introduction to digital accessibility underscores the need for greater awareness about accessibility for everyone, which is the purpose of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), celebrated this year on May 15.
“GAAD means the world is coming together to highlight digital accessibility, which is not a household topic,” she says. “I went through an entire computer science program, and they never talked about digital accessibility at all. From what I understand, that’s very common.”
Fascinated and intrigued by her website work, Ronniesha decided to pursue an accessibility internship. She applied for and was accepted as an intern with the Nelnet Diversified Services (NDS) Accessibility Team in 2019. Her two-year internship led to a full-time role as an IT Accessibility Engineer.
“Having a day dedicated to accessibility awareness drives inclusion and equity. Every year that we take part in it, we’re getting closer to an equal experience for everyone regardless of their physical ability.”
“Like Drag and Drop”
As a member of the internal Accessibility Team, Ronniesha conducts audits for Nelnet’s web services and our internal products and assets too. “We look at things like our websites, SharePoint sites, and PDFs, and make recommendations to take them from inaccessible to accessible,” she says.
The team is both proactive about correcting what’s inaccessible and responsive to requests for help from NDS teams. “We have to be proactive about telling other NDS teams that this is important and that they should have accessibility,” Ronniesha says. “After we review these assets, teams typically ask us to keep doing this on a yearly basis.”
Ronniesha is particularly proud of the work she does with the Unifi Team at Nelnet. “Working with Unifi is always fresh, and all the things that come out of their work are super impressive” she says.
Unifi makes components and features that the rest of Nelnet integrates in products — “like drag and drop almost,” Ronniesha notes. “We are creating accessible components that introduce new functionality and are custom to Nelnet, such as enabling those who can’t see to know which check boxes within drop-down menus have been selected.”
A Personal Concern
The need for digital accessibility is both a professional and personal concern for Ronniesha. Her mom, a nurse, has worked with many patients with a variety of disabilities, especially among the elderly. “She has a lot of insight about accessible initiatives and assistive technology,” Ronniesha says.
Many of Ronniesha’s friends and family have accessibility issues, and it’s a critical issue for her as well. She wears glasses and recently was diagnosed with Keratoconus, a progressive eye disease, in her left eye.
“When I was younger, my dad would say to me, ‘When I’m old and I can’t see anything anymore, you’ll have to read to me,’” Ronniesha recalls. “By making things usable for people with screen readers and other assistive technology, I might not have to read to him, but I can make things readable for him.”
