Marcus Engel

Early Life

Marcus Engel grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, like any other average kid. Then, one weekend during his freshman year of college, everything changed. After attending a St. Louis Blues hockey game, he and his friends were involved in a car accident that left Engel with a Le Fort III Plus Fracture and total, instant, permanent, vision loss.

What he describes as “a rather rude entry into the world of vision loss,” Engel spent the first six weeks of his blindness in the ICU not only adapting to losing his sight, but also enduring surgeries that sometimes lasted 20-25 hours. Because he had so much physical trauma to recover from, blindness and adaptation to blindness were initially pushed to the back burner. His first year of recovery was focused on physical healing, learning independent living skills, and orientation and mobility training.

Through it all, Engel held onto a piece of advice his high school principal gave him in junior high: “There are so many things in this world that you can’t change. Change the things you can and don’t worry about the rest.” Engel began asking himself “What can I change?” This mindset led him to research rehabilitation programs and begin learning braille while lying in a hospital bed. “Even if there is nothing you can change, you can always change your attitude and see your challenges as a learning experience,” said Engel.

Career

A year after the accident and initial trauma, Engel attended the Colorado Center for the Blind to learn rehabilitation skills. After six months there, he spent a month in Forestown, New Jersey, training with his first Seeing Eye Dog. Once those skills were in place, he was finally able to step foot back on Missouri State University’s campus.

Engel now holds a B.S. in sociology from MSU and a Master’s in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University in New York. He has been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Notre Dame for the past nine years. His mission and purpose for the past 33 years has always been to help people who are suffering. For more than 20 years, he has worked with healthcare professionals─ doctors, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, and others who interact with patients ─teaching compassionate communication. His hope is to show people who are blind or low vision that life is not over. “You can still have a very happy, successful, fulfilling, purpose-driven life,” said Engel. “In fact, it may just be the beginning of a completely new chapter.”

The Dot Experience

As a member of The Dot Experience Cast, Engel is looking forward to having more influence inside the blind or low vision community. “I’ve had a lot of professional and academic accomplishments, but I’ve never had the opportunity to expand my message to a community that I don’t often get to serve.” He is excited to hear people’s stories and be a part of the mission to create greater awareness. “I think when we actively listen to the stories of others, we are much more likely to feel empathy and compassion,” said Engel. “It’s not just those things, it’s the inspiration that comes along with the person that says, ‘Look, in spite of the fact that I have vision loss, I’m going to seek my passion, my purpose, my mission, my fulfillment in this world. I’m going to do it. I’m going to find my way.’”

Engel lives in Orlando, FL with his wife, Marvelyne, and has three adult stepchildren and seven grandchildren. In addition to numerous professional and academic accomplishments, he is the author of four books being used by scores of nursing schools, medical schools, and allied health care programs, which you can find on Audible. He is working with his sixth Seeing Eye dog, Winter, and loves that Buddy is being incorporated into The Dot Experience.

To keep up with Marcus, follow him on Instagram or visit his website.