“I am in a constant state of problem-solving” – this is what a talented young man turned into a career. It’s literally what drives him forward. What’s more, his problem isn’t a temporary one, because it’s rooted in something serious: the loss of his sight. We sat down with Attila Bodnár, who, full of confidence, is starting a new life in Budapest with his guide dog, Parfé.

For more than a decade, he pounded the keys, solved difficult theoretical tasks, and in the process, isolated himself from people—much more than he considered healthy. He’d had enough. He wanted something different from life, so he started studies that led him back to the world of personal connections. And he got there. If one could place a bet on it, I would — he is likely to build a career in education as well, just as he became a lead developer at the company where he returned for job interviews six times before they finally gave in and hired him.

We met Attila Bodnár at Eötvös Loránd University’s centre near Astoria. His yellow guide dog, Parfé, led him out of the building, and quite a few people turned toward them smiling – everyone knows them here. Attila had just finished one of his mentoring sessions where he gives IT assistance to visually impaired students. On top of that, he teaches statistics at Corvinus, and there’s a third university on the list too.

Heavy loads call for equal counterweight

“Everyone has a figure they need to cover their living, and mine’s the kind that takes working at multiple jobs. Is it my fault that I have this urge to prove myself? I don’t know – my therapist could probably tell you. I’m constantly taking on work that’s hard to deliver, just as confirmation that I could pull it off. But I don’t think I’m hurting anyone with that, and on top of it, I pay a lot of taxes.”

The strain is audible in Attila’s voice; he’s had another hard day. He keeps himself in balance through sports, but even there, he manages to add to his load. He wouldn’t be himself if he had shied away from the responsibility of leading the LÁSS Association, which organizes sports for the visually impaired. Attila’s job is to ensure that economic and sports development processes run smoothly, while department heads organize skiing, yoga, cycling, canoeing, and other camps.

“This is a complex piece of teamwork. We are present at the Great Sport Selector, Sziget Festival, and the Ördögkatlan Festival. As much as we are able, we take sports everywhere.”

Problem-solving, or something like it

He’s in an interesting spot, since he meets visually impaired young people on two fronts: one is at university, the other is sport. From what he’s seen, sport gives them confidence and helps them find their place at work too. He knows a visually impaired young person looking for a job might immediately push back on that, but in his view everyone gets where they’re meant to be, and he’s noticed that whoever finds their harmony in sport will find it at work as well.

Of course, he got his share of rejections too: “I had plenty of job interviews on the open market, and a lot of the time I didn’t get hired because I’m visually impaired. Of course, no one said that to my face, and they never will. These people were looking at what wasn’t there. I can’t see, that’s a fact, but they didn’t notice that I have extra skills that go beyond, say, those of a fully able-bodied colleague.”

At his very first workplace, a developer company in Szeged, they told him they wouldn’t hire him, couldn’t give him a job, because he can’t see. After that, he kept applying for their open positions.

“I went back six times, until eventually the boss said, fine, he was sick of the whole thing, so he’d hire me. I worked there for almost five years as a lead developer,” he says with a smile.

His boss in Szeged – who’s still a very good friend to this day – figured out after a year that with Attila, the trick isn’t to make him do what he can’t, but what he’s better at than the others. And there was such a thing.

We circled around this idea a few times, trying to work out what it was he was better at than the other developers, until one word took shape in Attila’s mind.

Problem-solving. Because every day I’m in problem-solving mode – like, how do I get from A to B, how do I solve some totally trivial thing. The fact that I’m constantly in problem-solving mode was a bonus skill at work. Because I’m not looking for ways a task can’t be done, I’m looking for ways it can be done quickly.

Looking back on it now, he thinks he was pretty pushy, but he did the right thing, because if he hadn’t gone back that many times, he wouldn’t have the foundation of knowledge a mentor developer passed on to him.

“I’m not saying people have to do exactly what I did, because it takes a certain personality for that, but you have to do something similar to get them to even talk to you. You have to be a bit pushy, you have to be more than average.”

In a new home with Parfé

After leaving the overly tied-down and isolated developer lifestyle behind, the commute between Veszprém and his university jobs kicked in. Several hours a day on the train was already too much for Parfé, who turns seven this year. Attila talked it through with the Baráthegyi Guide and Assistance Dog School Foundation, the ones who trained his dog, and they decided Parfé needed less workload, more exercise and more free time.

The male Labrador has been loyally helping him for six years, and Attila repaid that by moving them to Budapest. So instead of several hours of commuting a day, they now have time for each other. He told us they tried out lots of flats, but none of them had the right vibe. The dog didn’t feel good, and neither did he. Finally, in the 12th district, they found a perfect flat with a little garden.

“With sighted friends I mapped out the neighbourhood, and I took to it quickly. What matters is that here in Városmajor I feel like I’m in a little forest, and from here I can easily reach the city centre,” Attila said.

They can easily get to the dog park from their home, and even after just one day, they have already befriended Pacsni and his owner.

“I think people here are open and welcoming. I’m confident that Parfé and I will find our place here too.”

About our Foundation:

This year, we celebrate our 20th anniversary. Over the past two decades, we have provided more than 200 guide dogs free of charge.

Please support their training with 1% of your tax!

• Tax Number: 18449149–1–05
• Name: Baráthegyi Vakvezető és Segítő Kutya Iskola Alapítvány

If you provide your mailing address, we will send our next year’s guide dog calendar as a thank-you letter. The 1% tax donation is most easily done through the NAV online interface via the “Ügyfélkapu” (Client Gateway).