Full Transcript
Maddy: Hi, I’m Maddy.
Amy: And I’m Amy, and we’re peer ambassadors at SSB, State Services for the Blind in Minnesota.
Maddy: I’m gonna finish up my junior year of high school. I attend Armstrong High School and I take courses at Normandale Community College through the SCO program. So I’m kind of at two schools right now. Then outside of my classes, I’m a part of the environmental club at Armstrong. I’m a dancer. I dance three times a week during the school year with recitals, tap, ballet, jazz. Yeah, that’s a little bit about me.
Amy: I’m Amy. I just finished my first year at the University of Minnesota Duluth studying social work. I didn’t really do much of like, clubs in my first year, but in high school I did drama club and I was a part of all shows there, which is super fun. Yeah, that’s basically it about me. Oh, I like reading. Reading is one of my favorite things, and listening to music as well.
Maddy: If you’re wondering what a peer ambassador is, Amy and I were really here as a resource for students and transition age individuals in Minnesota. We’re here to really connect students not only to just state services for the blind, but really to each other, and kind of strengthen that community and educate students on various skills relating to blindness. And yeah.
Amy: Yeah, we’re just here as a resource, and we think it’s so important to have people who are around the same age as transition students to connect with you guys, because we know what’s going on. We know how students are feeling. So we’re just here.
Maddy: We’re available to students when we have one on one conversations with us, we can talk about really anything. So if students just want to talk about stuff that they’re interested in or if they want to, you know, have a conversation about accommodations in school or self-advocacy, and they just want to talk to someone their age and hear different perspective, like we’re available for that. We’ll also be creating and hosting some events for students.
Amy: Yeah, we really want to really strengthen the community here in Minnesota because, you know, ever since Covid, everything’s been online and we really want to bring people together, you know, online as well, but mostly in person, because we found that a lot of people really connect well with each other when they’re in person and they can talk face to face. So we really want to hopefully plan something fun over the summer. We’re thinking like a picnic. Or I was thinking maybe like a pool party, but I don’t know, like logistically how that would work out. But just like something fun where we can hang out and not always talk about skills and training, which is important, but it’s also important to interact with each other socially, and we really want to have fun together for sure.
Maddy: One event that we have planned coming up is actually this week on Thursday, May 30th at six, Amy and I are hosting a little virtual meet up hang out for students in Minnesota to join from anywhere. It’s on zoom. We’ll just kind of get to know each other, a little more, and then also kind of talk about summer activities students may want to participate in, or future events that students would like to get involved with. That’s one event we have coming up this Thursday.
Amy: Yes, please. If you’re able to join and chat with us. Another thing that is happening is Golfing Clinic on the 17th of June. This is an event I think it’s for kids ages eight and up. It’s a really fun experience where you can learn about golf. I’m not really a golf person. I don’t really know anything about golf either. You know, maybe I’ll go. It looks fun and it’s accessible. Golf too. It’s going to be super fun. So if you’re interested, check that out.
Maddy: I’m definitely going to try and be there. I never have been a big golfer, but you know, it might be fun to try something new. Another event we have coming up this summer which I’m very excited for and we’ll definitely be there. I believe it’s August 13th, 14th and 15th. SSB will be going on a camping trip through Wilderness Inquiry. Yes, but we’re still kind of getting those details finalized. Some more official information will be out soon. Should be very fun. I believe it’ll be a three day, two night camping trip. it’ll be a great fun trip. We can, you know, get to know each other better, spend some time outside. It’s always fun to camp.
Amy: Yep.
Maddy: So, yeah, that’s another event that I’m very excited for coming up.
Amy: Yeah, I’m so excited for that. So I’ve never been camping in a tent before. So kind of nervous but kind of scared, but like kind of excited. Yeah. We’ll see how it goes. Should be fun. I’m excited. Hopefully I don’t die. Yeah. No, that’s not encouraging people to come. You’re not gonna die.
Maddy: No, no you it will be safe.
Amy: Yeah.
Maddy: Yeah. Don’t worry.
Amy: Also another cool thing that I. I have been hoping to try this summer is the blind sailing event, a bunch of workshops. It looks like the 1st of June. It’s this person named Katie, and she, like, teaches people how to sail who are blind.
Katie: Last season I had two sailors that were six and ten come out with their mother, and another day with her dad come out sailing. And I was just watching this and I was like, we need to have a youth program. I want the youth that are blind and visually impaired to grow up as this is a normal thing. I want this sighted youth to grow up alongside of them and going, hey, I really want to race. I want to sail with this person. They’re amazing.
Amy: It sounds super cool. I’ve always wanted to go. I love going on boats and stuff, so I think it would be super fun. Yeah, it looks fun.
Maddy: Some other things going on this summer. There’s a few conventions going on, so the American Council for the blind convention will be in Jacksonville, Florida July 5th through July 12th. Also, the National Federation for the Blind National Convention will be in Orlando, Florida from July 3rd through July 8th.
Amy: Yeah, go on the beach.
Maddy: I don’t know… Disney World?
Amy: I don’t know if Orlando is by the beach?.
Maddy: Oh my gosh. Another event coming up is the Minnesota Twins Beat Baseball Clinic, which is on June 15th.
{Music}
Doug: Get some kids running around, let them know it’s okay to run, which is probably counterintuitive to anybody with a visual impairment.
Jeff: Meet Doug Van Duyne, coach of the Minnesota millers beep baseball team.
Doug: We use a ball that’s a 16 inch ball that’s been modified, and the ball actually beeps. We want them to focus in on that cadence, which is kind of I’ll clap with it. Set. Ready. Pitch. Swing.
{Music}
Maddy: I tried did a little bit with beat baseball last year at Summer transition program, and I was very bad at it. But, you know, maybe this would be a great place for me to improve my skills, that’s coming up. Should be super fun.
Amy: It is fun. Beat baseball is. Yeah. It’s hard. It’s harder than you would think.
Maddy: Definitely. I know it’s like, oh, this will be easy.
Amy: Yeah, and it was not.
Maddy: It was not.
Amy: Yeah I remember I thought the same thing. I was like, yeah, it’s fine. And I was like, I’m missing the ball.
Maddy: Yeah it was great.
Amy: Yeah. Those are basically like quick little recap or overview of what’s going on here in Minnesota and some outside of Minnesota. But that’s just a quick recap and hopefully we can add on some more things so we can do more fun things. But it’s looking like a really good summer. And hopefully you guys are able to attend some of these events.
Maddy: Yeah, that’s a great way to meet new people, meet other blind individuals. And if you have any questions about these events or I mean, this was a lot of information, all of this information and links. To find out more information about these events, you can go to MN.Gov/Deed/SSBTeens.
Amy: Yeah.
Maddy: So that was a lot. But um yeah it’ll all be on the SSB website.
Amy: Yeah, check it out and join us. It’ll be so fun.
Maddy: It’ll be great. And yeah. Come to the virtual hangout this Thursday.
Amy: Yes.
Maddy: Should be great. Great way to get to know each other a little better.
Amy: Yes. Please come. So Maddie and I aren’t just sitting there like, hey, by ourselves.
Maddy: Yeah.
Amy: yeah. Thank you guys for listening. And we look forward to recording more of these in the future. Thank you.
Jeff: Be sure to contact your state services for the blind, your Voc Rehab and find out what they can do for you. Live. Work. Read. Succeed.
[Music] [Transition noise] -When we share-
What we see
-Through each other’s eyes…
[Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]
…We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.