Hi. My name’s Paul and I was born in South Korea. I came to Australia with my parents when I was six, and we’re currently living in Sydney with our three dogs. I was born with a genetic defect that made me farsighted in both eyes, and also lost all vision in my right eye in an accident when I was six. I’m currently completing a double degree in science and arts at UNSW. I’m a big fan of science fiction and play video and tabletop games with both my local and online groups. I’m also interested in military history, casually write fiction, and play the drums. 
  
As a mentor, I believe I’m a good listener. I’m capable of taking in information and emotion. As much as it’s my position to offer advice and guidance, I’ll make sure to pause here and there to check that I understand what you want out of our sessions. 
  
I’ve worked with assistive technology for as long as I can remember. While different people will use and prefer different methods, if you think that the tools you’re using right now aren’t enough, I can give you pointers and suggestions on what you might want to look into. 
  
I’ve been told that I’m good at approaching problems cognitively. If you ever feel overwhelmed by something, our first step will be to try to smooth it down into something less daunting. We can compartmentalise it into smaller parts, clarify just what the root of the problem is, or some other approach that rationalises the fog of uncertainty away. 
  
But above all that, what I want to offer you is validation. For me, personally, living with a vision impairment has caused me a lot of grief at times. It’s been the source of a lot of troubles and a lot of failures. I can’t pretend to 100% know your individual situations and struggles, but I can promise you that I won’t try to sweep those struggles under the rug. If we meet, I’ll lend you my empathy and experiences. And through that, hopefully, we’ll both come out of our sessions just a little more prepared and to achieve the goals we want in life.