Vision Quest: Andre Green Doesn’t let Blindness Get in the Way of his Dream

By Migdalia Sanchez
Social Media Manager

Andre Green makes his way through campus with a smile on his face and a white cane. While he walks, Green is warmly greeted by many faculty and students. It’s readily apparent to passer-bys that Green is blind, but few could guess  that this amiable man with a welcoming personality and a sense of caring for others has turned a horrible accident 30 years into a positive force for many people with disabilities.

Green established the Andante Organization at CSUDH, where he aims to remove the stigma with those with disability. Green is also employed as a peer mentor in Student disAbility Resource Center assisting other students with disabilities navigate college life. He has also earned his bachelor’s degree and soon his masters at CSUDH.

Green was born and raised in Los Angeles, with a single mom, three brothers and one sister. He was the youngest in his family. He lived in a rough environment and a rough time. In 1980, one of his brothers died during a drive-by shooting. In 1989, Green was shot in the face

He lost his brother and his sight. 

But he refused to surrender to the darkness that he now lived in. Green, who never finished high school, decided to go to college and change his life for the better. 

“After I became blind I decided to go back to school,” said Green. “I needed to go back because once I became blind I needed to learn how to live as a blind individual.”

His journey to get his education again began at Junior Blind of America, now called American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) in Los Angeles. The school teaches blind and visually impaired individuals how to use the cane, type, cook and how to be independent again.

From there he went to East Los Angeles Occupational Center where he graduated with a computer degree in technology and landed a job as a telemarketer at Disadvantage Workers of America.   

But it wasn’t just school and work all the time. In 1997 he met a wonderful lady and fell in love.

Their romance lasted three years. In 2000, she passed away which led Green into a deep depression.

“When she died I went into depression that lasted two years,” said Green. “Because now the love of my life was gone and I didn’t know what I was supposed to do next.”

After battling depression for two years, a friend convinced Green to go back to school., which he did by enrolling in Los Angeles City College and getting his associates degree. 

He came to CSUDH to study human services in the fall of 2009. He did all his internships in the disability department and received his bachelors degree. 

In 2014 he started the Andante Organization, an organization that is still active today. “Think of it as a support group” Green said. It mostly meet Tuesdays and  Wednesdays at noon in front of the LSU.

“I’m trying to get more people with a disability to own it,” said Green. “In a sense where it’s not a deterrent because you have an inability to do something but what it is, [and to ask] is for help which is a sign of strength.” 

Green wants to be of assistance to others as a career. He said that helping others is what makes him happy. He will be walking the stage this May receiving his masters degree in sociology with a possibility of getting a position in that department on campus. 

“I want people to know I’m Andre and not my disability,” said Green. “Graduating this May, I can finally say that I’m finished and I believe you elevate yourself when you get your degree. So because it elevates me to be all that I can be, I think it will open the door for the possibility to continue doing what I’m doing now.”