MACON, Ga. — Graduations are on the horizon for many students across Central Georgia, and this includes students at the Georgia Academy for the Blind.
On Tuesday, students received Touch 3D yearbooks created by students in Mercer University's engineering program.
The yearbooks are wooden boxes with a 3D printed face model of each student. Their names are printed in braille on a nameplate underneath their faces.
Engineering students scanned the faces of academy students earlier in the year, and worked to make sure each student could feel out where their face was in the yearbook.
This is Mercer engineering's sixth year making theses books for the graduates.
One of the graduates, Kayleigh Littlejohn, says she's excited to graduate.
"Yeah it's been a little challenging but I'm excited to get done with school work," she said.
Littlejohn says it feels like she made an accomplishment when she got her yearbook.
Another student, Shayla Hampton, said she had never gotten anything like her 3D yearbook and thought it was really nice.
She also had some advice for rising seniors.
"Don't fall into senioritis, make sure you do all your work no matter what the circumstance is and take care of your mental health," she said.
One of the Mercer students involved, Katie Puckette, says she wouldn't trade this opportunity for the world.
"I love it. It's a year long process and so we work throughout the year and so watching it all come together and their reactions it makes it all worth it," she said.
Both Shayla and Kayleigh both say they will be doing a program called Project Search at the academy after graduation. The program is designed to help students learn work and life skills.