Travis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the things that I really like about this job is there\u2019s no one path to the same job. There\u2019s always gonna be different paths, there\u2019s always gonna be different barriers, people are gonna want to do things differently, no two students are ever gonna be alike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Please welcome Pre-Employment Transition Services Counselor Travis Mashuga. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think parents are a really big role in what we do, but with that also being said, there are the long-term goals of the student. The student is what we\u2019re there for, the student is who we\u2019re there to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fulfilling your passions, and getting the career that you want. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For me, this field is more than just finding employment, it\u2019s more about working with the students and trying to lead them on the best path to success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Helping navigate the pathway to education and employment, and opening doors to possibilities. Please welcome Travis Mashuga. We hope you enjoy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:
If they want a job search we have employment specialists, they\u2019re amazing, they just do an awesome job, so kudos to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Welcome to Blind Abilities, I\u2019m Jeff Thompson, and in the studio today with me, we have a new counselor at State Services for the Blind, his name is Travis Mashuga, and he is a Pre-ETS counselor at State Services for the Blind in Minnesota. Welcome, Travis!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:
It\u2019s good to be here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Thanks for taking the time out of your day, and to come onto Blind Abilities and talk and explain to them about what you do and what it\u2019s like to be working at State Services for the Blind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re open to whatever, so wherever you want me to start just let me know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
First, describe your title. Pre-ETS, what does that mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, what Pre-ETS stands for is Pre-Employment Transition Services, and what it kind of encompasses is students that are age 14 to 24, who are in my case since I work for State Services for the Blind, who are blind or visually impaired, and what we do is we work on building their skills to transition into either the workforce or to college, or to college and then the workforce, and trying to reach their career goal and where they see themselves after high school, after the school, kind of their schooling ends if that makes sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Mm-hm. How do they get to you? When they come into State Services, is it their age group, is it their determination of what they want to do, their goals, or what makes them get assigned to your department?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It kind of depends. We\u2019ve had self-referrals, so that means they refer themselves to us because they hear through a family friend or something like that. A lot of the students that we get usually apply or hear about our program from their schools or their vision learning teachers, because they learn that oh, I need some assistive technology and maybe I\u2019ll need this after college, and maybe State Services for the Blind will help me with that, or I want to go to college but I\u2019m not sure what I want to do, I don\u2019t know what barriers my vision might have, how to explore those, they\u2019ll apply and then talk to us about that, because we don\u2019t really get referred consumers, if that makes sense. They have to apply to our program, and then be found eligible for our program, so we don\u2019t technically get referrals, we just get the application and we do an intake with the individuals to see what their needs would be and if State Services for the Blind would be a good fit for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
And what age group is that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Pre-Employment Transition Services, it\u2019s 14 to 24, but then we do also have adult counselors that work with anywhere from that 24 to 25 age up until basically when they want to, I guess. If you have an older individual that maybe wants to work or is needing assistance at their job because they\u2019re losing their vision and that type of stuff, so we service the whole spectrum, but my group specifically looks at students that are 14 to 24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And when a student comes in, they may be in high school, they\u2019re looking towards college. Does State Services, does your department offer them guidance on what\u2019s out there, career choices, you know, will that career be available five years down the road. How does that work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have five big categories and areas within our services that we service under, and one of those services is job and career exploration, and what that kind of looks like is we work with students on, you know, maybe they say they want to go into the hospitality field, we\u2019ll just say a random one, and they want to work in a hotel. Okay, that doesn\u2019t need college, that doesn\u2019t need the type of stuff that maybe we\u2019d think about after high school, but now we take that into a different field where we have someone with vision impairment says oh, I want to be an engineer. Okay, well, engineers usually need a Bachelor\u2019s Degree, they usually need this and that, and training, internships, you know, they\u2019re gonna need technology to assist them to do what they need to do, so we have those conversations with students and kind of see where they\u2019re at. We don\u2019t necessarily push them in one direction or the other, we\u2019re just there to be the kind of guiding force of alright, let\u2019s kind of explore what\u2019s out there, explore what your interests are, and then we kind of just go off that. We do look at- there are market statistics to see what jobs are in demand right now, what that looks like for job outlook, we do go into that type of work as well, just to see if that\u2019s a plausible work goal. We can\u2019t all send people to be astronauts at NASA. It\u2019s a possibility, we could talk about it, we could see what skills are needed, if that\u2019s kind of where they\u2019re at, but it\u2019s more of just trying to fit it best for the individual and who we\u2019re working with and what they\u2019re looking to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
What about when it comes to looking towards jobs or applying to colleges?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yep, we help with all that as well. I get asked questions like how do I apply for college, what do I have to do, how do I- and they just don\u2019t know, and it\u2019s for good reasons sometimes, because when you think about even when I was going to college I didn\u2019t know what I had to do on the application. I had to ask around, and we had a career counselor at our high school to help me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Mm-hm. When you talk about individuality, it\u2019s very unique for everyone because not everyone has the same needs, the same goals, and yet you don\u2019t decide that as you mentioned, but the possibilities are endless and you\u2019re basically like a vehicle that gets them to a certain point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah. And I would say they\u2019re the driver, if we\u2019re using a vehicle metaphor, because in all reality we\u2019re the ones tuning the engine, and you know, making sure the windshield washer fluid is up there, and just making sure all the kind of background work is done, but at the end of the day, it\u2019s the students that drive where we go. I mean, if they put a lot of effort into it and we put a lot of effort into it, you can have a really kind of good relationship with us to work, and get that outcome to where, okay, now you can do what you want to do and we\u2019re there to support you for as long as you need it, and then once we\u2019re not needed we\u2019re not needed anymore, and if they ever needed us again, they could always reapply. It\u2019s one of the things that I really like about this job, is there\u2019s no one path to the same job. There\u2019s always gonna be different paths, there\u2019s always gonna be different barriers, people are gonna want to do things differently, no two students are ever gonna be alike, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m drawn to this field, is you\u2019re never gonna have the same day twice. You\u2019re never gonna have the same meeting twice. You might have a similar meeting, but not the same in the sense of the students aren\u2019t gonna have the same exact job goal and the same exact means to get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
When students have their IPE, their Individual Plan for Employment, do you relate with, like, they come from an IEP, the high schools, is there any communications that happen in that handoff, that tradeoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:
Yep. One of the things that I like to ask for and I know that the rest of my counselors that are doing Pre-ETS do like to ask for is their IEP, because we like to mirror a lot of the IEP goals and how they can relate to employment, so if someone says that they want to have a job experience in a high school or something like that, we can help kind of find them one or help them, maybe support them, getting there, that type of stuff, if that\u2019s becoming an issue. So we do work with schools, I mean, we sit in on a lot of IEP meetings just to see where the student is going and what they\u2019re kind of thinking and how they\u2019re working at school, and that type of thing as well. We do communicate a lot with the schools. I would say it depends kind of on the school too, because there are schools that are more hands-off, more hands-on, kind of know what we do, kind of don\u2019t at the same time, because sometimes they don\u2019t know about State Services for the Blind, and they just think that it would be- vocational rehabilitation services is our sister company, they think they take care of everything, and they didn\u2019t know that we were a kind of company. I think that the bigger part with that aspect is just making sure that we\u2019re more known to schools, so they know to reach out to us and that we can help students that have visual impairments or that blindness is a barrier for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
And that\u2019s the importance of connecting early, that age group drops down to age 14, they\u2019re not necessarily ready to graduate but it\u2019s good to start tracking them on their way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:
Yeah, I don\u2019t know if tracking is the right word, but I would say working with them, yes, just to build up those skills. I know at 14, honestly, I wanted to be a marine biologist, but it\u2019s that same kind of conversation, like they don\u2019t know where they want to go, and for them employment can look a lot differently, and pardon the pun of looking, but it does look a little bit different for them in the sense of how do you navigate a world where you can\u2019t see it and you\u2019re trying to figure out what you want to do, and that can be kind of challenging for people, and there\u2019s a lot of questions that get brought up of can I do this? What technology is available to me? How can I do this on the computer, I don\u2019t know that is, I can\u2019t use Word, I can\u2019t use Google Docs, so that\u2019s some of the stuff that we help with as well, is we have vendors that we work with that do do training, and we do some of the training as well with our tech specialists, just to show students that they can do a lot more than they think they can, and that with the right technology they can be pretty successful and independent, because I think that\u2019s what some people miss, is just they\u2019re hoping to have their independence and by doing some of this stuff it just allows them to be that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Well, it\u2019s nice to be in a place where you\u2019re going for information and there\u2019s already been some successes that they can either role model or hear about, that they\u2019re not blazing a trail that no one\u2019s ever done before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:
Yeah, I would say that\u2019s true, and the fact that we get it, some people don\u2019t understand like blindness and how it works, and how different technologies, what they\u2019re used for and all that type of stuff, and that\u2019s part of our job too is to educate because if more people knew about it then it wouldn\u2019t be as- I wouldn\u2019t say stigmatized, but I would say it\u2019s just not looked upon differently, because there is that aspect of it too, where just a lot of people aren\u2019t exposed to it, so they don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on and change is hard for everybody so I think that\u2019s part of it as well, is just making people more open-minded to kind of try and see what\u2019s out there and see how things work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
The goal is for advancement in, you know, going to college, the workplace, and there\u2019s so many other skills, like in soft skills. Like I know SSB offers socially savvy programs and other, I would say, extracurricular, but they\u2019re all fundamentally solid programs that you offer. That\u2019s another part of this too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah. The blindness socially savvy was something that Sheila, one of my coworkers, happened to think about and then put together, but there\u2019ve been some other things, such as a chill and chat we had the other week, with students just to be able to talk to one another, and I think that\u2019s something that, you know, with this pandemic and whatnot, some students are missing, is just that social interaction, and it also allows students that are blind and maybe don\u2019t know a ton of other blind students to interact and ask questions, and I think that\u2019s something that\u2019s kind of important to their development. Those soft skills, some of the job readiness skills that we work with are very important, and sometimes- I mean, I\u2019m not gonna say I didn\u2019t have trouble with soft skills because I kind of did, but it\u2019s teaching them how to act in an interview, teaching them how to answer the question politely and correctly, how do we dress to an interview, how do we react when maybe someone says something that we don\u2019t appreciate. There\u2019s some stuff like that that sometimes you don\u2019t talk about and sometimes people don\u2019t think exists but does, and in order to work on those skills I think is really crucial, especially in the early years, because then they become more confident in themselves and I think it works to their advantage, because confidence shows well in jobs. I mean, if you\u2019re confident in what you do and you can show what you can do, employers are usually pretty receptive to, you know, work with you and see where things go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
So if someone\u2019s interested in getting services from State Services for the Blind, especially Pre-ETS, either a student or the parents of a student, how would they get ahold of you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you just google State Services for the Blind Minnesota, there is a website that you can go to, and there\u2019s applications that you can fill out on there, and then just send to us. You can- I believe there\u2019s an email, or you can also mail them in, either way we would get them. And then what would happen is we would set up an intake, and then we would have someone reach out to the family to talk with them and see what are you looking for, we are a work-based program so is your long-term goal employment, you know, what does that look like, what are they thinking, and then they\u2019ll just collect some documentation and that could look like an eye report, because there\u2019s a certain degree of blindness that we need to work with our program, any other diagnoses that they think would be helpful would be also asked for with some of that documentation, and we would help get that to if that would be an issue, we could help them get releases and stuff like that, or we could ask for that information, so it\u2019s not just on them as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Do you work with parents?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, and quite honestly they are really helpful when it comes to cases, especially with students where I have no idea who they are. My caseload alone, I\u2019ll have close to 30, and my coworker Shane has a caseload that\u2019s up there in cases as well. We see a lot of students, I mean, that come in and out of our program and whatnot, and we are not the experts on them, but we get to know them after the first, you know, month or so of meeting and kind of couple meetings that we have with them, but the parents are really there to help us understand kind of what they\u2019re looking for, because if we don\u2019t understand, then we\u2019re not going to be best supportive of them to get them to where they want to go, and sometimes parents can have really good insight on their children as well, just the sense that hey, we might ask them \u201cHow are your soft skills?\u201d and they\u2019ll be like \u201cThey\u2019re really really good,\u201d and then I\u2019ll get a parent chime in that says well, sometimes they struggle with this and that, and then this is an area that I\u2019m kind of concerned with, that type of thing. So we kind of get conflicting, and that\u2019s kind of a good thing depending on the scenario, just for the fact of the more information we have the better, and I think any information that would be helpful to the student would help us as well. Parents are really helpful when it comes to some of that maybe insight that maybe the student doesn\u2019t have, or maybe something that they\u2019re just noticing that would be really helpful. Sometimes they\u2019re a point of contact, so if we\u2019re trying to reach a student we can reach the parents, that way we can get the information we need. I think parents play a really big role in what we do, but with that also being said, there are long-term goals as a student. The student is who we\u2019re there for, the student is who we\u2019re there to help, and that can be sometimes difficult for parents as well, because they might want one thing and the student might want another, so we have to kind of be the mediator in that as well, in the sense of our long-term goal is not for the parent to have a job, it\u2019s for the student, so that students need to kind of keep that in the back of their mind, that we\u2019re on their side as well, we\u2019re not just there to work with the parents, we\u2019re 99.9% there to work with them, and then if parents are there they can help if they think that would be helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Mm-hm. If you find that someone may need a little help in some areas, what options are there? Do you send them to ATB, Adjustment To Blindness training, or what kind of options do we have?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:
It really depends, and depends on the student, because if they need ATB, and for those that don\u2019t know ATB stands for, it\u2019s Adjustment To Blindness training, and what they do at Adjustment To Blindness is more just building on the skills to be successful, so that could include, like, reading braille, keyboarding, TDL, which is everyday life skills, so that could be learning how to chop vegetables, learning how to boil water, learning how to use a stove, oven, all that type of stuff that can kind of go into it, and in some aspects I think that\u2019s really helpful for students because a lot of time with schools and whatnot they don\u2019t have the practice that they would have, so if the school is working on stuff and the student feels like they want more, we can always offer more, and that\u2019s one way I think ATB is really helpful in that sense is it gives them another option to practice more and to become more confident in their skills, and if we\u2019re talking job skills and job search and all that type of stuff, we will do that in-house ourselves too. Say that a student wants to go to college, we can help them apply, we can do that type of stuff with them, if they want a job search we have employment specialists. They\u2019re amazing, they just do an awesome job, so kudos to them. So we have in-house people that do that, if their caseloads get kind of big and they get kind of busy we do refer out, we have other vendors that we work with that do job placement, job search, all that good old stuff, but all that would be up to the student, we would let the student kind of choose where they want to go if that\u2019s the case, because we do have options, we\u2019d rather have them be informed and let them kind of choose where they want to go if the in-house option isn\u2019t there, just to know that they always have a choice in that matter as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
When you talk about Adjustment To Blindness training, that\u2019s something, you know, with the pandemic right now, they\u2019re not doing it right now, but you will be, and I mean it\u2019s a requirement, you\u2019ll be going in for six weeks, I believe it\u2019s six weeks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:
Yes, I will be going as well. So they are doing some Adjustment To Blindness training, it\u2019s very limited right now with the pandemic that we\u2019re in right now, and just because of the restrictions and whatnot, so just know that there is some Adjustment To Blindness training going on, it\u2019s just not to the capacity it usually is, but yes, I will be going in as well all- as Jeff was saying here, all counselors have to go through it, so all new SSB counselors have to go through what\u2019s called Adjustment To Blindness training, I will be blindfolded, I am a sighted person, so I will be blindfolded up and I will be asked to do everything that the students would be doing, from reading braille to crossing streets to cooking meals, all that type of stuff. I will be asked to do all of it for six weeks, after that I would have a better understanding of what it looks like and be able to describe that to students<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That has to be a little bit of anxiety in a sense, I mean, you know, it\u2019s-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
-a day, a dinner, a meal, a theater moment, but six weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:
Yes, that- it is a big deal, and I think that\u2019s just a little taste of what our students go through, especially if they\u2019re new to vision loss. It can be scary, I mean, it\u2019s a whole world that you have to try and navigate where one of your senses and one of the ones that we use to, you know, do a lot of different things and perceive danger, and you want to think big, big picture here, it is a big deal, and I think that us going through it gives us just a little bit of a taste. Six weeks is a long time, but six weeks compared to 16, 36 years, is a lot different, so to just give us that little bit of perspective and just give us kind of the appreciation of what they have to do and what they have to go through I think is really important for the counselors and kind of what that looks like going forward for our program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Well, that\u2019s great. Travis, what led you to become a Pre-ETS counselor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fun fact, I was an engineer before I started all of this. Not an engineer in a sense, I went to school to be an engineer, and then I realized quickly that that was not what I wanted to do, so then I switched to the psych field. I have a brother personally that has a traumatic brain injury, so the field of disability was not something new to me, but I didn\u2019t know what I wanted to do with my psych degree, I wasn\u2019t sure what Master\u2019s I wanted to go into, so my senior year I was kind of looking around the different majors, I originally thought I was gonna do trauma, but then I just didn\u2019t want to do that because I, just from the stories I\u2019ve heard it\u2019s too draining for what I wanted to do. Then one of my mom\u2019s coworkers had introduced me into the field of rehab, and for me it just kind of stuck like a glove. After that, after hearing about what they do and I had worked at a non-profit for a number of years doing DSP work and just working with people and employment in general. It just kind of fit, as soon as I got into it I knew that this is what I want to do. The interesting part is being hired on during a pandemic is not something that a lot of people get to experience, I know it\u2019s been kind of challenging for me with the sense of training, because, you know, in-person I get to be going into the schools, I get to be meeting teachers, vision teachers, all that type of stuff, and I can\u2019t do that right now, I have to virtual, so that part I kind of miss a little bit, but for me this field is more than just, you know, finding employment, it\u2019s more about working with the students and trying to lead them on the best path to success, so for me it\u2019s just really rewarding to work with these students and see, kind of, them grow throughout the whole entire process and blossom into something that they\u2019ve wanted to be for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Well, thank you for doing what you\u2019re doing, I think it\u2019s a great choice. When I first lost my eyesight, I had no idea what was out there, what to do, and people who are gonna hear this podcast are gonna get a good idea of the services that are available, and like you said, you\u2019re just the vehicle and the customer is the driver, so thanks for what you\u2019re doing and thanks for coming onto Blind Abilities and sharing with us a little insight into what the Pre-ETS department at SSB does. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:
Yeah, not a problem, it was a pleasure of mine. I hope that, you know, people listening to this kind of can hear about it a little bit, it\u2019s good to just kind of get our name out there as well, just to kind of make sure we\u2019re reaching people that may not have heard of us before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Alright. Well, thank you, Travis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travis:
Yeah, thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such a great time talking to Travis Mashuga, the Pre-ETS counselor at State Services for the Blind of Minnesota. And you can contact them on the web at mnssb.org, that\u2019s www.mnssb.org. Be sure to contact your State Services for the Blind, your Voc-Rehab, and see what they can do for you. Live, work, read, succeed. And for more podcasts with a blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com, on Twitter @BlindAbilities, and download the free Blind Abilities app from the app store and Google Play store. That\u2019s two words, Blind, Abilities. And if you want to leave some feedback and ask a question, give us a call at 612-367-6093. We\u2019d love to hear from you. And from all of us here at Blind Abilities, to you, your family, and friends, stay well, stay informed, and stay strong. Thank you for listening, hope you enjoyed, and until next time, bye-bye. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
[Music] [Transition noise] -When we share<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-What we see<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Through each other’s eyes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email<\/a> or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities<\/a> Check out the Blind Abilities Community<\/a>on Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page<\/a>, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired<\/a> group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Full Transcript Travis: One of the things that I really like about this job is there\u2019s no one path to the same job. There\u2019s always gonna be different paths, there\u2019s always gonna be different barriers, people are gonna want to do things differently, no two students are ever gonna be alike. Jeff: Please welcome Pre-Employment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6470","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P6rcRg-1Gm","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6448,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6448","url_meta":{"origin":6470,"position":0},"title":"Assistive Technology Specialist Jesse Anderson and State Services for the Blind Go Virtual in Providing Transition Services to Students","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"January 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Pete:\u00a0 Welcome to Blind Abilities, I\u2019m Pete Lane. The Minnesota State Services for the Blind, like every other state rehab agency, is certainly not exempt from the impact of COVID-19.\u00a0 Jesse: We started working from home March 16th, we\u2019re probably gonna be working from home for quite the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7531,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=7531","url_meta":{"origin":6470,"position":1},"title":"Job Insights: Accepting Blindness, Job Readiness and Building Confidence… Let’s Get that Job!","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"August 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Serina: How do we address those issues to be best prepared for successful employment? Jeff: Job insights - a podcast to help you carve out your career pathway and enhance the opportunities for gainful employment.\u00a0 Sarlie: I work with clients from all over the world to build up\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"The TechAbilities Logo-Dark Sunglasses with TA and BA bold letters in each lens.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9493,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=9493","url_meta":{"origin":6470,"position":2},"title":"From Possibility to Pathway: Building Futures Through Pre-ETS","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"April 18, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Podcast Summary: Across the country, students who are blind, deafBlind, or low vision are asking big questions about their future\u2014and 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\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0035.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0035.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0035.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0035.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6643,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6643","url_meta":{"origin":6470,"position":3},"title":"Programs and Opportunities are Growing for Students: A Chat with Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig – Make that a Chill and Chat!","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"April 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Sheila: Last year for the first time SSB had peer educators. It was an opportunity for them to create programs for other students during the summer. Pete: Introducing Sheila Koenig, Transition Services Coordinator for State Services for the Blind of Minnesota.\u00a0 Sheila: STP is what it\u2019s known as,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8713,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=8713","url_meta":{"origin":6470,"position":4},"title":"From Audio Books, Braille to Broadcast: Behind the Scenes at State Services for the Blind – A Tour Through SSB\u2019s Communication Center","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"June 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Podcast Summary: Ever wonder how a book becomes Braille? Or how an employee manual turns into an audio file? The students of the Summer Transition Program (STP) at the University of St. Thomas got to see it all firsthand! During their visit to State Services for the Blind\u2019s Communication Center,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8753,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=8753","url_meta":{"origin":6470,"position":5},"title":"Cooking Up Confidence: Ready, Set, Prep","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Podcast Summary: Get ready to explore, experiment, and own the kitchen! In this exciting episode of Blind Abilities, Jeff Thompson visits the Ready, Set, Prep program at State Services for the Blind of Minnesota\u2014a hands-on class designed for blind and visually impaired students to learn cooking and life skills in\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6470"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6471,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6470\/revisions\/6471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Contact:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com<\/a>
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