BUTLER TWP - Butler County Community College graduate David Miller sometimes jokes that it took going blind to get him back to college.

"I went to a job straight out of high school, and it wasn't until I became blind that I went back to school," he said. "And sometimes I wonder if I would have been as dedicated to my (school) work if I wasn't blind."

Miller, along with fellow graduates Melissa Murphy and Conrad Lang, are among some of the first blind students BC3 has had participate in graduation ceremonies.

They were among the 439 students eligible for graduation this year. Of those, 192 participated in the commencement ceremony Thursday evening at the college.

In a break with tradition, graduates this year decided against having a keynote speaker who was not affiliated with the college.

Megan Smith, chairwoman of the BC3 executive council for students, and Cara Hindman, Phi Theta Kappa president, addressed their classmates. Jessica Forsythe, a 1969 BC3 graduate and owner of the architectural firm 4-Most Group, was the featured alumni speaker.

Hindman was one of three sets of mothers and daughters who were graduating together from BC3 Thursday night. Hindman thanked her mother for her support during her speech.

Miller, 34, said he was excited to participate in the ceremony and wasn't really worried about how his disability would affect his attendance.

"I had confidence they would work it all out," he said.

Each of the blind students were accompanied by an escort to the stage to receive their diploma. For Miller, good friend Jody Kozik was that person.

"I am so proud of David," Kozik said. "I was not flattered he asked me to escort him. I was honored."

This June marks four years since Miller went blind in what he refers to as an "unfortunate incident." His disability forced him to make some changes in his life.

One of those changes included leaving the workforce and going back to school. Miller said he chose to attend BC3 and major in business management. He has earned an associate's degree in applied science for business management.

"I was a grocery store manager before I went blind, and that experience helped me make the decision on my major," he said.

The challenges of attending BC3 were far surpassed by the benefits, Miller said.

With the help of Pittsburgh Vision Services in Bridgeville, Miller learned how to live life as a blind person. Some of the skills he learned help him pursue his education at BC3. Among those was how to use a special computer to take notes and do his assignments on, and how to maneuver around on campus.

"I maneuvered around campus by myself as much as possible," he said. "I'm an independent person, and I wanted to maintain as much of my individuality as possible."

Miller wasn't afraid to ask for help when he needed it, and he said BC3 students, faculty and staff were happy to provide it.

"If I did get disoriented, I'd give people the name of the building I was trying to find and people would help me," he said. "Everyone was very kind about it."

The way BC3's campus is set up was a huge help in him getting around, Miller said.

"What's nice about this campus is a lot of the classes I had to take for my major were in the same building or area," he said. "So I usually didn't have to go too far to get from one place to another."

Miller said his hardest time on campus was winter, because the snow would build up and make it harder for him to use his walking stick to familiarize himself with the area.

The coursework itself provided quite a challenge for Miller. He listed accounting as one of the hardest courses he took. But help from the BC3 tutoring program helped with the class.

Miller graduated a member of BC3 honor society Phi Theta Kappa, was on the president's list several times and earned a grade point average of 3.8.

His success has helped him realize anything is possible when a person puts his mind to it, Miller said.

"It's never too late to come back to college, no matter what your circumstances," he said.