Walters overcomes obstacles
Editor’s Note: Where are they now? is a regular feature that will catch up with Franklin County natives who may be pursuing opportunites outside of the area.
Russellville High School graduate John Walters had pretty much made up his mind before entering college that he wanted to have a business or marketing-type job some day.
After he graduated in 1994, Walters attended the University of North Alabama where he joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, met his future wife, majored in marketing and seemingly had most aspects about his future figured out.
However, Walters discovered a lesson at the age of 21 that most people figure out later in life: you can’t always be prepared for what happens to you.
While on a road trip to a jazz festival in New Orleans in April of 1996, Walters noticed he was having trouble seeing the road signs. Once he got to New Orleans, the neon signs appeared to be blurry.
Walters would soon after be diagnosed with an extremely rare condition called Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy, which caused him to go from having 20/20 vision to having no central vision in a period of three to four months.
“Before they made their final diagnosis, the doctors thought I could have MS or a brain tumor,” Walter said. “Even after they were able to figure out what was wrong, it was very depressing to go from being able to see everything to only having my peripheral vision.”
Even though Walters knew he had a long road ahead of him, he was determined to stay in school, finish his degree, and keep pursuing the plans he had for his future.
“I knew it was important for me to finish college,” he said. “I just knew I was going to have to figure out how to do it in a different way since I wouldn’t be able to take notes or see the chalkboard.”
Walters said he found and learned how to use software that would read texts on a computer screen out loud. He started to understand the software and progressed in his schoolwork, but there were some people who thought he should still change his career path from one in business to one that might be easier for him, like social work.
“Just because my vision had changed didn’t mean my personality had changed,” Walters said. “I was determined to finish school. Thanks to help from my future wife, Lori, and my friends and family I didn’t skip a beat and graduated with my business degree.”
Walters overcame many hurdles before graduating from college, but he was about to encounter several more. He wanted to be a financial advisor, but he found it was very difficult to get a job once people found out about his impaired vision.
“I interviewed with every firm I could think of, but nothing came of it,” he said.
Walters was finally able to get a job with the telecommunications company ADTRAN in Huntsville. After working there for a while, he started doing mortgage loans, but he never gave up on wanting to be a financial advisor.
Walters finally received the news he had been waiting to hear since he graduated from UNA. In September of 2002, the same month he married his wife, Lori, he was hired as a financial advisor at AG Edwards and worked there for five years before transferring to his current job as a financial advisor at the independent firm FPH Financial Services in Huntsville.
Walters uses screen-reader software to find client information and search the Internet and he has also has several assistants who help him when needed. Ultimately, Walters just uses the mentality he developed at age 21 to just do the very best job he can and get things done.
“I love what I do because I’m able to help people plan for their futures,” Walters said. “I’m always interacting with people and I’m not doing the same things over and over. Meeting and interacting with people just fits my personality.”
Walters and his wife live in Huntsville with their standard poodle, Stella, and enjoy traveling whenever they have the chance, especially to see his mom, Shelia Upchurch, who still lives in Russellville.
