Aurora resident Reem Hamodi was born blind in Iraq. Growing up, her mother recorded classroom lessons for her because accessibility services were not available.

After coming to the United States as a refugee when she was a teenager, Reem learned to use screen readers, assistive technology and Braille for the first time.

Today, she is an assistant director in the Office of Disability and Equity at Community College of Aurora, helping students access the resources they need to succeed.

Her story is one example of why digital accessibility matters.

Will Flowers, the City of Aurora's website and digital accessibility coordinator, works behind the scenes to make city websites, social media posts and documents accessible.

"The only barrier really in that person's way isn't being blind. It's whether or not the content she's trying to interact with is accessible," Flowers said.

For Reem, accessibility has helped turn barriers into opportunities, and now she is helping do the same for others.