American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections Convention Issue 2025 IN MEMORIAM
Remembering Treva Olivero
by Bre Brown
On May 25, 2025, the blind community and the wider world lost a beloved friend, Treva Olivero. Treva will be remembered as a teacher, a mentor, and a loyal friend. Until her death she was deeply committed to her students and to the blind community.
Treva Olivero was raised in a traditional Amish community in Goshen, Indiana. From childhood she had a visual impairment and a rare bone disease. When she was eleven an infection in her right leg led to amputation above the knee. From that time forward, Treva used a wheelchair.
In the Amish community disability was not always well understood. Though they loved her deeply, Treva’s family did not know how to educate her and prepare her for life, but they wanted nothing but the best for her. For much of her childhood Treva received homebound instruction. At last, her family made the difficult but loving decision to send her away from her home and community to attend the Indiana School for the Blind (ISB) in Indianapolis.
Treva graduated from ISB in 1995 and went on to earn a teaching degree from Ball State University. When she was twenty-three, she made a wrenching decision. She decided to leave the Amish faith and the community that had always been her home. If she was ever going to have a full life as a person with disabilities, she knew she needed to build a life for herself in the wider world.
Treva then relocated to Richmond, Indiana, where she worked for a nonprofit, helping adults with disabilities get connected with needed assistance and resources. In 2007 she relocated to Baltimore, where she worked at the National Center for the Blind on our education staff. One of her favorite tasks was helping to develop mentoring programs around the country.
I met Treva in 2011 when I served as a mentor for a weekend at our national center with students from West Virginia. Though I lacked confidence in myself, Treva believed in me from the beginning. I vividly remember the time she assigned me to marshal at a symposium. She left me to herd people into the auditorium while she went off to do something else. I really had to step out of my comfort zone! I stood by the door and called out, “Auditorium!” at the top of my lungs. It did not start out this way as I am a really quiet person, but she encouraged me that it was okay to raise my voice some to help others find their way.
In 2011 I went to Ruston, Louisiana, for intensive training in the skills of blindness at the Louisiana Center for the Blind (LCB). I was overjoyed when Treva arrived as one of my classmates in January 2012. We bonded immediately as we faced the challenges of training together. We also discovered that we shared a love of country music, playing games, and so much more. From that time on Treva and I were almost inseparable. We talked nearly every day until the end of her life.
Training at the LCB transformed Treva’s life. It gave her the confidence she never had before. After she completed her training at LCB, she enrolled at Louisiana Tech University and earned a master’s degree in teaching blind students. When she completed the program in 2014, her whole family came to Ruston to attend the ceremony. Though she had chosen to follow a very different path, her family was immensely proud of her.
In the fall of 2012, Treva took a job in the Lincoln Parish school system as a paraeducator where she worked until the fall of 2024. She also taught many students virtually. In addition, in 2012 she began teaching in the NFB BELL® Academy (Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning). She was a BELL teacher every summer through 2023.
Treva thrived on her work with blind students, helping them reach their full potential. She loved to teach assistive technology, and she was gifted at helping students use it to their best advantage. When her health began to decline, Treva fought to the very end. She did her utmost to ensure that her students gained the skills they needed while she was still able to teach them.
Treva’s deep faith was always at the center of her life. It radiated through everything she did. During her final illness, her faith helped her face the end with grace.
Treva will be remembered for her kindness, her embracing love of people, and her commitment to the education of people with disabilities. She cheered her students on with great joy every day.
When people reminisce about Treva, someone is sure to bring up her laugh. Treva’s laugh was absolutely famous! Treva had so much to give, and we lost her far too soon.
Treva passed away at her sister’s home in Indiana. Through her final days she was surrounded by loving family and friends, praying with her and singing her favorite songs. She is deeply mourned by her family in the blind community, especially by the children she taught over the years. To me Treva was a beloved sister and friend, and her passing is one of the hardest losses I have ever faced. The world just isn’t the same without her.
If you would like to share your memories of Treva or learn more about her life and her work, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].