Sue Slater of Presto Magic Travel is nothing if not well-traveled. She’s sailed on 36 cruise ships to Canada and New England, Hawaii and Alaska, and has toured Ireland, Italy, the Greek Islands and Morocco.

So what distinguishes her from her equally well-traveled colleagues? Slater is blind, having lost her sight between the ages of 20 and 35 due to retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary condition.

But she has never let her blindness stop her from doing the things she loves.

Before Slater became a travel advisor , one of her passions was traveling and arranging trips for family and friends.

“In 2000, I was looking for something to do from home,” she said. “My husband, Larry, was looking at Travel + Leisure, and he said, ‘Susie, I found the perfect job for you. You can be an outside agent.’”

And so Slater’s career as an independent contractor (IC) was born.

She hit the ground running, immediately creating a fundraising cruise for the American Council for the Blind with 95 cruisers and 25 guide dogs.

“When I first started as a travel agent, one of my motivations was making travel possible for people with limitations,” Slater said.

To promote the cruise, she submitted stories promoting it to newspapers around the country.

“I put together an article for the Los Aneles Times and the editor loved it and she ran it– and it was syndicated,” appearing in newspapers from coast to coast, she said.

Today, Slater’s business is focused on cruises and groups. “A lot of my business is cruise groups ranging from 10 to 200 people,” she said.

Since the inception of her St. Louis-based agency, Slater has also booked 250 destination wedding groups, and she arranges trips for church groups, high school groups, family reunions and more.

She has earned her Elite Cruise Counsellor designation from CLIA and is a certified specialist with Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and Cunard.

Slater has also earned a range of destination, honeymoon and weddings and resort specialist certifications.

Although 2020 has been challenging for virtually everyone on the planet, the year was particularly difficult for Slater, whose husband unexpectedly passed away in February.

“Larry was my partner in my travel business and did all of the visuals for me,” she said. “So, I have spent these last months learning how to do these things, and I’m very proud of what I have been able to now accomplish by myself.”

What has been particularly helpful is an app called Aira, which people with visual impairments to expertly trained agents use. “It allows sighted agents to look through the camera on my iPhone11 and take over my computer through a program called Team Viewer. They are my eyes and help me navigate the sighted world every day in a multitude of ways.”

Slater also takes advantage of Job Access With Speech (JAWS), a screen reader program that enables people with visual impairments to read what’s on the computer screen through text-to-speech output or a Braille display.

“If you’re going to be blind, the 21st century is the time because there is so much technology that makes it almost like you can see again,” she said.

Slater also credits her host agency, Travel Quest Network , with helping her overcome challenges. “If I have a problem with something that’s not accessible, I call them up and they send me an alternate form – and they just made their agent portal accessible for me.”

She noted that Travel Quest co-owners Bonnie and Walt Lee “are down to earth and support their ICs 100 percent.”

Slater’s success can also be attributed to her adventuresome spirit and positive attitude. “My motto is that laughter keeps you sane and to start every day being grateful for the gifts you have and not worry about what you do not have and can do nothing about,” she said. “Have a smile on your face, give yourself a virtual hug and go out in the world looking for a new adventure.”

She brings that same positive attitude to current and prospective clients alike. “I’m open for business,” Slater said. “If there’s anybody out there who wants a knowledgeable, experienced travel agent who will answer the phone with a smile from 8 am to 11 pm daily, they should call me. I’ll give them a fantastic, amazing experience.”