Podcast Summary:
Across the country, students who are blind, deafBlind, or low vision are asking big questions about their future—and in Minnesota, those questions are turning into real opportunities. In this episode of Blind Abilities, we explore how Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) through State Services for the Blind are helping students move from uncertainty to action. Through hands-on experiences like summer programs, outdoor adventures, career exploration, and workplace training, students build independence, confidence, and real-world skills.
From canoeing and snowshoeing to job fairs and mentorship from blind professionals, these experiences go beyond the classroom and into everyday life. Students also gain access to assistive technology and learn the critical skill of self-advocacy—tools that last a lifetime.
This episode offers an inspiring look at what happens when students are given the space, support, and opportunity to explore their potential—and begin building the future they imagine.
Links of interests:
To find out more about the services provided at State Services for the Blind, and what they can do for you, contact Shane DeSantis at shane.desantis@state.mn.us or call Shane at 651-385-5205.
Thanks for listening!
Full Transcript:
Jeff: Welcome to Blind Abilities. I’m Jeff Thompson. What if the future you’re imagining is actually much bigger than you think? What if the career you haven’t discovered yet is already waiting for you? And what if the skills you need to get there are something that you can start building right now? If you’re a student who is blind, DeafBlind, or low vision, those questions can feel huge. But here in Minnesota, there’s a place where those questions start turning into answers. It’s called pre-employment transition services, or offered through state services for the blind in Minnesota. And over the years on blind abilities, we’ve heard from many of the students who have taken part. Their stories say it better than anything I could.
Amy: For me. One thing I really wanted to do was go to like summer camps and stuff like that, and my counselors would help me find those programs so that I could go to them. And that was really fun.
Jeff: Pre-ETS programs are designed for students in high school and early college who are blind, DeafBlind, or low vision. The focus helping students explore careers, build independence, and develop the skills they’ll use in college jobs and everyday life. But what makes these programs special is how students learn. Sometimes it’s in a classroom, but often it’s through real experiences.
Maddy: I remember the first event I ever did with SSB was a canoeing trip, where I was able to meet a bunch of other blind students. Yeah, very fun and very helpful.
Jeff: One of the best known programs that students talk about is STP, the Summer Transition Program. STP gives students the opportunity to practice real world skills, living more independently, learning new technology, exploring career paths, and building confidence that carries forward long after the summer ends.
Preston: For many years, I’ve been going to the ESY Summer camp at the State Academy for the blind down here in Faribault, and I’ve also been going to 917’s ECC camp in Inver Grove Heights, and that camp next year will be replaced by, for me, the Summer Transition Program in Saint Paul. And those camps are great opportunities to not only learn skills that you’re going to need that, you know, I think a big part of it is a lot of sighted people learn expanded core curriculum skills at a young age by observing others or visually being taught or trained to follow through. But as a blind person, you obviously don’t get that opportunity. And so learning these skills in a fun environment where you get to meet new people and make new friends, I think is just incredible.
Jeff: Another opportunity that students explore is LEAP, L.E.A.P. Programs like Leap help students build workplace skills and begin thinking about their future careers. Students learn about teamwork, communication, problem solving, and what employers are really looking for.
Hannah: Leap stands for learn, earn and prosper. It is a program that supports blind and visually impaired youth aged 14 to 22, to develop job skills and independent life skills, to experience different work environments, to make some money, to make some friends.
Jeff: But some of the stories students love sharing the most aren’t always about classrooms. They’re about adventures. Through partnerships like Wilderness Inquiry, students have had the chance to explore Minnesota in ways many have never expected. We’ve heard about canoe trips on the water, camping experiences, outdoor challenges that push students beyond their comfort zone.
Katy: Are we actually going to sail the boat, or is this going to be more like a chartering? We’re going to go out for a day sail. No, you will rig the boat. You’ll learn all functions of the boat. You will be at the helm. You’ll learn different sails, different trims.
Jeff: And Minnesota winters haven’t stopped the adventures either. Students have talked about snowshoeing at Fort Snelling, learning mobility and navigation skills while exploring the outdoors with friends.
Anes: You know how are all those animals able to run through snow really fast without these cool snowshoes.
Emma: Because we’re kind of replicating how they have their feet, like their weight is distributed. Like their paws, animals that can do that, their paws are really thick.
Sam: Like a Snowshoe Hair.
Emma: Yeah, yeah! so that’s how Snowshoes maybe get their name, from Snowshoe Hair. Or vice versa, I don’t know.
Jeff: These experiences may seem simple, but they build something powerful. Confidence, problem solving, teamwork, and the understanding that new environments aren’t barriers. They’re opportunities. Another part of pre-employment transition services is career exploration. Students meet professionals who are blind or low vision, working in fields like technology, education, business, public service and more. For many students, this is the first time they see someone doing a job they thought might not be possible.
Maddy: There will be a job fair. There will be blind and low vision. Volunteers can be there at their tables to talk to students and let them know a bit about their industry, how they got their job, any tips they have to network with and to talk with to see what careers they may be interested in. Students can talk to these, you know, blind and low vision adults who have gone through it already know what it takes to get a job, live life independently. And so it’ll be really valuable for students. And I think everyone will be able to learn a lot. This is a great event, whether you’re a blind student who knows exactly what they want to do and just wants to talk to some blind and low vision adults about how they got their job, like what their job is like what they needed. You know, what was college like? If that’s something they’re interested in or this event’s also good for students who maybe don’t know what they want to do and are interested in just exploring the different industries that they could become a part of and see what interests them.
Jeff: Technology is also a major part of the journey. Students learn how to use accessible tools like screen readers, apps, and adaptive technology to help them succeed in school and the workplace. But the technology is only part of the story. The real impact comes from the people, counselors, mentors, teachers, and the students themselves.
Amy: They also connected me with technology people like tech specialists, to help me figure out what kind of technology I would want to use in high school and in college. And as college came up, they helped me to figure out what the application process would look like, figure out like what college was going to be like, and the differences between high school and college.
Jeff: And perhaps one of the most important skills students develop through these programs is self-advocacy. Knowing how to explain the tools you use, knowing how to request accommodations, knowing how to speak up for what you need to succeed.
Joshua: For me, I need mostly like bigger font for something if I need everything textbook or anything digitally, if it’s only paper copy, they will still make it digitally. So there’s other things like seating in a classroom where I want to sit. Where’s the good place to sit? They will, they will put on the accommodation list. So yeah, those are the most important things. They will list them down. So it’s actually very good that first meeting. You have to mention everything that you need. That’s the most important thing.
Steph: I had a conversation with my supervisor about receiving accommodations. And, prior to that conversation, I did some research about what accommodations I would like to receive. And they were very receptive. I mainly asked for large print, digital copies of anything that was shared, because I appreciate having a larger print option or having the presentations shared with me or documents shared with me, so that I have them in front of me on my computer.
Jeff: Those are skills that last a lifetime. Over the years, here on Blind Abilities, we’ve heard many students describe how these programs help them see their future differently. Some arrived unsure, unsure about college, unsure about work, unsure about themselves. But through programs like STP, LEAP, Outdoor Adventures, and Career exploration, something began to change. Confidence started growing, new possibilities started appearing, and students began writing their own path forward.
Steph: I thought that I would be going into counseling myself. And I think that’s still an option. I’m still considering it. But I’ve also recently looked at getting a master’s in teaching English. I have a teaching English as a foreign language certificate, and I thought that that would be a great path if I wanted to teach. I thought that I was ready to do that. It seems like it’s a pretty good program. Yeah, I can either go into counseling or become a teacher.
Jeff: If you’re a student who is blind, DeafBlind, or low vision, or if you’re a parent, teacher, counselor working with a student, you might want to explore what state services for the blind in Minnesota offers through pre-employment transition services. And if you would like to hear more of these stories, you can find many of the conversations right here on blind abilities. Students, counselors, mentors, and real stories about discovering what’s possible. Because the future isn’t something that just happens. It’s something you build, one experience, one skill, one opportunity at a time. Thanks for listening and until next time, bye-bye.
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Jeff: To find out more about all the programs at State Services for the Blind, contact Shane.DeSantis@State.Mn.us
That’s Shane dot d-e-s-a-n-t-i-s at state.mn .us.
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.