Podcasts and Blog posts sharing tools for success, ideas and successes from others who have transitioned from high school to college and to the workplace.
Freedom: Aira and Information By Jessica Hodges It was a cold and snowy day, and I was out of time. I'd overslept, and today was an important day. Usually, my protocol on Saturday mornings is to pull the covers over my head, keep my door locked, put on some soft music, or a good book, and shun all human contact for as long as possible. Today though was a day I needed to face the world. Today was the day some really amazing poets were coming to...
Brian powers grew up with the challenges of bullying and being just a bit different. Brian has Albinism and is legally Blind. From his days in K-12 to his journey into the music industry, Brian shares his challenges, his resolve and his passion for music. Brian has contributed his successful transitions into school, work and setting up his business to the help he received from State Services for the Blind of Minnesota. From providing visual...
STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. With the inclusion of Arts one has STEAM and one can find classes and programs for each on-line by a Google Search. Colorado University offers summer discovery camps and is inclusive to children with disabilities, not to exclude other opportunities, and our guest Jamie Principato will be teaching at CU Science Discovery Summer Camp. Jamie Principato joins Blind Abilities over a Skype...
Blind Abilities presents the TVI Toolbox. Where the collaboration between Teachers, Counselors, Parents, Agencies and the Students themselves help enhance the opportunities for success. Transitioning from high school to college and the workplace is a major step and the beginning of lifetime goals and aspirations. As Wesley Sissen, the featured Transition Student in the Success Stories portion of this podcast, puts it very well, “No one has to...
Dr. Mona Minkara and her team at the University of Minnesota recently created a STEM curriculum to be utilized by a blind camp in Lebanon. Dr. Mona Minkara is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Chemistry. Her goal is to one day obtain a faculty position that would give her the opportunity to teach and do research. She is also passionate about bringing STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering and...
A Success Story: The Transitioning Journey of Alycia Howard Transitioning from High School to College is a journey says Alycia Howard. She has graduated from high school and attended an Adjustment To Blindness training center, The Minnesota State Academy 18+ prep program and is now attending Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Being ready for college and knowing what you want in a college is a great start in the transition process....
A Blog Post by Jessica Hodges I woke up early in the morning, then immediately wished I hadn't. This was my first day of college classes. I was supposed to feel excited, confident, and on top of everything...but I hadn't registered for classes yet. The system wouldn't let me, because of problems with my FAFSA, or Free Application For Student Aid. I had the necessary forms to bypass this, but I didn't know when, or if, they'd come through. I knew...
By Jessica Hodges Monday. It's 8:00, AM, again. I've overslept. Stumbling, I cram my feet into the wrong shoes, yank a brush through my hair, pack and grab my beat-up messenger bag, shove a bagel in my teeth for safe keeping, and start running for the bus. It pulls up right as I whack my head on the bus sign, and I almost drop my bagel, franticly fishing my pass from the black hole that is my bag. With card, cane, and bagel still somehow in...
In this SSB Success Story Leah Martinson talks about how she navigated the transition from high school to college and to the workplace. How the services at SSB assisted her decision making and helped support her goal of owning her own business as an Integrative Health Coach. Leah graduated high school and became a Massage Therapist and realized that she wanted more, and she pursued her college career at the University of Minnesota and became a...
Susan Robinson’s TEDTalk just surpassed 1 million views and is still going strong. Susan’s humor and unique presentation about her experience with vision loss is educational to all, not just the Blind and Visually Impaired community, as her intent reaches out to the world wide community to broaden their thinking and to reshape their philosophy and to transform their philosophy on “What Is” possible. Susan authors the Oh Fabled One blog...