Like many other students at Sacramento State, he does not have a lot of time on his hands. He carries a full set of units and participates as an active leader on three student committees. To know him is to know a very busy man.

To assist him through the most mundane tasks of the day, he has a watch that tells him the time, a computer that can read to him, and a daily planner that speaks.

With these devices he finds his way, for this student is blind.

As president of the Disabled Students Union, and ASI-appointed chair of the University Committee for Persons with Disabilities, 22-year-old Gabe Griffith is an even-tempered beacon of tenacity with an impassioned argument for change.

“It’s something that I’ve really got a desire to try and make a difference in if I can,” Griffith said.

A project assigned to him during a speech class taken his first semester and a looming demand for the voice of a concerned student would ultimately steer him in a direction only fate could provide.

These days Griffith finds himself not only an appointed chairman for disabled students and president of the recently resurrected disabled student club, but also the newly assigned representative for the California State Student Association.

“I wondered how I went from being a freshman trying to do a five to seven minute speech to sitting in a shirt and tie in Long Beach,” Griffith said.

It’s a position that only one of three students throughout California hold and they are responsible for reporting directly to the State Chancellor’s office in Long Beach, according to Griffith.

Griffith first came to Sac State in the Fall of 1997 as a government major after graduating from a class of less than 200 at Kingsburg High School near Modesto. He said that he was eager to get started but that it took a while to get used to finding his way around in such a large city.

“Once I finally got off campus and started having to learn my way around a bit – it actually became much more interesting and much more fun being here,” Griffith said.

Griffith, who has been blind since kindergarten, started getting involved in the accessibility issue by being inquisitive about why Lassen Hall was the only building with Braille signs at the time.

In the course of his research, he met Patricia Sonntag, director of Services to Disabled Students, who encouraged him to attend his first UCPD meeting.

“Next thing I know I’m told that my name has been submitted and I’m now the ASI representative to this committee. I sat there not knowing up from down or what the heck was going on, I had no clue what anyone was talking about and I was completely lost,” Griffith said.

In the long run it was Griffith’s determination and problem-solving skills that finally convinced others that he had found his niche.

“After sitting on the committee for a couple of years somebody got the wild idea that I had half a clue of what I was talking about,” he said, referring to his being elected to the chair position for the UCPD in December of 1999.

Griffith said his parents and younger sister are pleased with his success and encourage every decision he makes.

“They remind me that it is going to be a great thing to put on a resume,” he said.

He had served as a senior class representative in high school and was chosen to represent his area as part of a conference program addressing disability issues. Getting involved at Sac State was just one more step down a road he is already comfortable following.

From the beginning Griffith has involved himself in every accessibility issue he could and has found himself in the middle of some pretty hot topics.

Early on, while in lower standing with the committee, he fought for continued placement of Braille signs throughout campus buildings.

“That was on the list of stuff to be done but it was down the list about 10 years. We got that moved up a whole bunch, but there’s still a lot of buildings that need to be done,” he said.

Despite the efforts, Griffith said he is still not satisfied with the progress the school has made.

“Money is the biggest obstacle as to what gets done. Here we are at a state college in the state capital and we’re having to fight for this stuff,” Griffith said.

“One thing we’re working on is to put up guidelines to try to ensure that the Sac State website is accessible to disabled students, particularly blind students, by using screen reading software,” Griffith said.

With the DSU, the main issue being tackled now is just getting students involved. Students that are interested don’t have to be disabled to get involved, but the emphasis for the club is to focus on disability issues. They want the club to be “more of a place students can come and talk and be friends,” according to Griffith.

One very unique friend indeed is Griffith’s constant companion, Torey. He is a 5-and-a-half-year-old Golden Retriever with a round, punchy face and eyes that could melt any animal lover.

“Some blind people decided not to get a dog. I love dogs, so I decided to get a dog,” he said.

Just after high school Griffith felt the urge to escape his small town environment. So when the opportunity came for him to travel to the East Coast for a guide dog, he was more than willing.

At The Seeing Eye in New Jersey, Griffith trained along side Torey for a month. Their companionship grew as they were sized together and became more aware of each other’s height and walking speed.

They have been together for over three years now and, according to Griffith, the strain in the relationship is starting to show.

“He’s gone on strike here the last couple of weeks but I’m confident we’ll be able to get the difficulties worked out and move on,” Griffith said.

Griffith does acknowledge that his biggest pet peeve is other people’s desire to touch or talk to Torey when he is supposed to be working.

“If I let people pet him then he’s definitely not going to work and when he’s supposed to work he’ll want to go up to people. Unfortunately, the only time people see him is when we’re at school and that’s when he’s working,” Griffith said.

Although Griffith has changed his major to Communication Studies, he still considers the possibility that law school may be his ultimate goal. But for now that is being put on hold in order to pursue his immediate desires.

“I haven’t ruled it out, but if I do then it will be at a later time. With all the stuff I have been involved in over the last few years, I would actually like to focus on something related to disabilities, whether it’s as some sort of counselor at a disabled students services program or something else out in the community,” Griffith said.

From a learning perspective, Griffith said that it has been exciting to work with so many people and gain the experience of working in group activities and on group projects.

“So many professors work on it in the classroom setting that it’s been exciting to get the chance to do it in a real-world atmosphere. That experience is what I can take with me to any kind of job,” he said.

“I am just so amazed to have the opportunity to be so involved with these issues. When I look around at the things that have gotten done it’s exciting, and I’m proud of that,” Griffith said. “But at the same time I see some of the other stuff that hasn’t been done.”

Griffith said he feels the experience he is gaining is valuable and indispensable for life outside of school.