[Cabs-talk] A blast from the past!

[Darian Smith]

Hey Mike,
 great looking!  i remember that a friend of mine went to this event
at LH.  I also remember the author  of this piece  went to the CCB  at
the same time as I did when I started training at the center.

On 11/15/09, Michael Peterson <its.mike at att.net> wrote:
> California Association of Blind Students Seminar-A Success!
> By Ronit Ovadia, First Vice-President, CABS
> Robert Stigile, President, California Association of Blind Students
> Robert Stigile, President, California
> Association of Blind Students
> >From November of last year to this April, the California Association of
> Blind Students
> (CABS) board and I worked on a student seminar, which took place April 5,
> 2003, in
> the Bay Area at the Lighthouse for the Blind in San Francisco. This seminar
> was geared
> toward high school students, although there were also college students who
> attended.
> The title of the seminar was "The Road to Success," and several topics
> important
> to blind high-schoolers were addressed. Being new to the board, this was
> quite an
> experience for me. However, I was excited to be involved and honored that I
> was chosen
> as the leader of the planning committee for this event. I had never planned
> anything
> of this kind before, and there were so many details to be considered.
> Everything
> from who we should invite to speak to what we should serve for lunch were
> important
> issues we discussed and planned. We also worked on outreach, and several
> schools
> and teachers were contacted to let them know about our seminar.
> After so many months of planning, the big day finally arrived. All of us
> were nervous,
> thinking that we wouldn't have enough people because our RSVP list had only
> a few
> names on it. However, we had about 10 students who came, along with parents
> and teachers
> of these students. This was the first exciting part for me; seeing the
> students actually
> arrive and register. In the morning, we had all sorts of speakers discussing
> several
> different topics. Nancy Burns, president of the NFBC, spoke about what the
> NFBC is
> and attitudes about blindness. Patricia Leetz, a rehabilitation counselor
> from Alameda
> County, gave tips on what rehabilitation services are available and how to
> make sure
> you benefit from these services. Michael Thomas, who works for Social
> Security, gave
> a talk about how Social Security is important for students as well as
> working adults.
> We also covered the topic of training centers for the blind. I spoke about
> the process
> I went through in order to attend the Colorado Center for the Blind this
> upcoming
> summer. Finally, because we all like to have fun, we had a representative
> from the
> Environmental Traveling Companions tell us about outdoor activities
> available to
> blind people. Their programs include everything from rock climbing to river
> rafting,
> water skiing and snow skiing. Throughout all these presentations, the
> audience was
> involved and asked many good questions directed to each of the speakers.
> Several
> of these questions initiated many conversations that continued into the
> lunch hour.
> After our informative morning, we took a lunch break and served pizza and
> soda to
> everyone. This was a great way to maintain contact with everybody throughout
> lunch,
> and people really got to know one another during this time. Several of the
> CABS board
> members talked with students and answered their questions during our lunch
> break.
> During the afternoon session we divided the students, parents and teachers
> into three
> discussion groups. Each group was led by one or two of our board members who
> had
> pre-assigned topics to discuss, ranging from disability student offices, to
> rehabilitation,
> to blindness training and even social skills and other social issues. After
> each
> group had discussed their topics for half an hour, the groups cycled to the
> next
> group, and after an hour and a half of discussion time, everyone had a
> chance to
> meet with all the discussion leaders and get many of their questions
> answered. This
> was a particularly successful activity, as everyone got involved. Whether
> they were
> a student, a parent or teacher, they were able to ask their own questions
> and tailor
> the discussion to meet their own needs.
> Overall, this seminar was quite a success. We had an interested group and
> all our
> activities seemed to be well received. Participation was a great part of
> this. Although
> it was the first seminar I had planned, it went very well and I am hoping
> that I
> will have the privilege to help plan our annual seminar for next year as
> well.
> Previous
>
>
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