Author and National Public Radio commentator Beth Finke spoke about going blind at the age of 26 in her presentation “Seeing it Through” Wednesday at the Holmes Student Center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom.

Finke, who was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at the age of 7, said she started seeing spots while on her honeymoon and knew she was experiencing the first signs of diabetic retinopathy.

Basically, she said, the blood vessels in her eyes burst.

“To me, I felt like I was going through my adolescence all over again,” Finke said. “I wasn’t really sure who I was going to be when I grew up.”

Finke started having weekly laser eye surgeries, and a social worker suggested she keep a journal about the experience.

Because Finke couldn’t see to write, she kept a journal on tape. As she compiled her entries, she thought it would make a good book and sent it out to publishers. She was rejected but received suggestions to improve it.

Meanwhile, at her job working at the University of Illinois’ Study Abroad Office, the department was in the process of moving, and her boss told her she could wait to start working until after the move. Then, in the summer, she was told to wait until the fall to return. Finke later was pulled out of a graduate class she was taking and was told that her fees weren’t being paid because the university had terminated her contract.

Finke said she was devastated.

“It took me a long time to get my wits about me,” she said.

Finke said the incident occurred before the Americans with Disabilities Act existed. She wrote a letter to the university and applied again but later decided she didn’t want to work for such a person anymore.

After that, Finke went through a number of jobs, including babysitting, booking bands at a club and selling tickets for the Kane County Cougars, she said.

Finke said her husband would read the classifieds out loud to her every day. One day, he read an ad seeking nude models for U of I’s art department. Finke said her husband joked about it and read the phone number to her.

Finke memorized it and called about the job the next day. She passed the audition and had her first modeling stint two weeks later.

Finke said she was very nervous, and that for some reason – she said she guessed it was because of her seeing eye dog – the professor said she could keep her clothes on.

“As I was standing there, in my head I thought, this would make a good essay,” she said.

Later on, when Finke applied to be a music editor at a newspaper, she brought her essay with her. She didn’t get the job, but her essay was published.

From there, it was picked up by larger newspapers and a part of it was picked up by NPR.

Finke continued working on her book. After some reorganizing and a few edits, University of Illinois Press published “Long Time No See” in April 2003.

Finke said she is often asked how she was able to keep a positive attitude after going blind. She said it could be explained in two words: nude modeling.

“The thing I’m most proud of with that is the fact that I took a risk,” she said. “I did something I never thought I’d do.”

Jametria McElroy, a rehab counseling graduate student, said she enjoyed Finke’s presentation.

“She was very honest about her past experiences. When she spoke, it was like I could visually see what was going on,” McElroy said.