The pooch, named Brizzy, has been by Nola Timmins’ side for three graduation ceremonies over the years

NEED TO KNOW

• Nola Timmins, who was diagnosed with optic nerve atrophy and declared legally blind at age 5, recently earned her master‘s degree in architecture
• Timmins, now 24, credited her guide dog, Brizzy, with helping her navigate life and education, and said the pair have been inseparable since she was a senior in high school
• Timmins told PEOPLE she hopes to use her degree and experience to advocate for mindful accessibility in architecture

A woman with a progressive eye condition recently received her master's degree in architecture — and her beloved guide dog Brizzy was right by her side.

Nola Timmins was diagnosed with optic nerve atrophy and declared legally blind at 5 years old. However, the Florida native, now 24, says she initially didn't fully understand the scope of her condition.

“In early elementary school, it didn't affect me much,” Timmins recalls while speaking to PEOPLE exclusively. “I didn't fully understand, and I went to a private Montessori school so it wasn't a big deal to get accommodations and things enlarged so I could see them.”

However, Timmins says that she began to realize she was different from her classmates when her vision became "significantly worse” at age 8.

“I could no longer read print books. I started having issues with accommodations,” she says, adding, “High school was incredibly challenging, and I ended up switching schools and going to live with my aunt halfway through high school, because I wasn't getting my accommodations.”

“It was really hard when I hit the age where all my friends started driving, and I couldn't,” Timmins adds. “They could just do a lot more than I could. I also really loved reading and always carried a book with me, and it was really sad for me when I could no longer read print.”

However, the graduate says she didn't let her condition stop her from pursuing her dream: becoming a professional architect.

“As a kid, I really loved drawing people's floor plans,” she recalls. “I would go into family and friends' houses, and I'd draw their floor plans. I had a bunch of stuffed animals and I would make houses for them out of paper, or forts with blankets and pillows.”

“Everyone kind of just told me, ‘Oh, you should be an architect,' and I heard that so much that when people would ask what I want to be when I grow up, I just started saying architect. And it was true,” she adds.

Timmins, who has a bachelor's of science from the Georgia Institute of Technology, says she also had another dream as a child: getting a guide dog someday.

She says she applied for a dog when she was 17 through the nonprofit Dogs Inc, which trains service animals and matches them with those in need of extra support — at no cost.

“Dogs Inc matched me with Brizzy, and she was a huge ball of energy,” Timmins says. “Within a couple hours, I was fully in love with her. We were completely inseparable … We just worked so well together.”

Brizzy has since seen Timmins through three graduations — high school, college and her most recent master's degree in architecture from the University of Virginia.

“She's always there and having her by my side is really reassuring,” Timmins says of the pup. “She definitely gives me a lot of confidence, especially when I'm not looking at the ground, because I can just use her guidance and look forward.”

“I love watching her work,” she adds. “I'm just so blown away by what she can do, and just also seeing her on harness versus her off harness is just so, so mind-blowing. When she's on harness, she's like, ‘I'm ready to work, let's go,' and I can just depend on her. Then when she's off harness, she's a complete goof, and people always comment how she seems like a totally different dog.”

Timmins also says that she is still heavily involved with Dogs Inc, an organization which she describes as “incredible.”

“I have an advisor that I meet with in person once a year to check in, and our food and vet care is covered,” she explains. “There is an entire network of alumni and puppy raisers, and it has been so cool to meet them.”

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Timmins went on to discuss the future — and specifically what she hopes to see change in the way that architecture approaches accessibility.

“More people need to be aware that everyone deserves equal access – not just the ability to access a place, but also an equal experience with that access,” she says.

“For example, a building can have an accessible entrance that is fully ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] compliant, but it's through the basement,” the grad explains.

“So while it meets code and you can say that it is accessible, having people walk through the basement instead of the front doors takes away from getting the grand experience of entering the building. It can make people feel like they're seen as lesser than, that they don't deserve the experience of entering at the front,” she adds.

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