<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class="">Scott, and all.</div><div class=""> Thank you for bringing this up.</div><div class=""> I have been thinking about how to add to this and while thinking this through a number of things came to mind.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The first is a quote from the Dr. tenBroek speech “within the grace of God”. In this speech he asserts, that as blind people living in this country, that we are entitled to all the rights and responsibilities that come with citizenship. Dr. tenBroek said, as it relates to employment that “ <font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" class="">We have the right freely to choose our fields of endeavor, unhindered by arbitrary, artificial or man-made impediments <span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">“</span>.</font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" class="">What he speaks to, is our collective experiences or, struggles as it relates to getting into the jobs that we want, or really any employment that will allow us to live as opposed to simply survive.</font></div><div class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman";" class=""><br class=""></span></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" class="">Now, as Scott has nicely illustrated, we have moved the needle on the issue of unemployment for the blind, but how do we move it further?</font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" class="">To me, I think that we should celebrate employment of our blind brothers and sisters no matter where that employment happens to be. </font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" class="">I can remember my first convention, hearing speeches from blind lawyers, blind academics, and blindness professionals. I remember people introducing me to these impressive and intelligent people and thinking that this is successful employment and what I should strive for.</font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" class=""> As time went on, and many of my friends went into these fields, I came to realize that while this was what was held up as success, this was not what I wanted for myself for my own personal reasons. Despite this,I felt ashamed if I hadn’t made a career there.</font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" class=""> These days, I know that it is about living the successful life that I want, the one that brings me fulfillment, and that definition of fulfillment is allowed to change. </font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" class="">Fulfillment can be the simple pleasure of saying “I have to go to work today” or earning my paycheck every two weeks, it can be much more than that for the next person.</font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" class="">I loved the panel at state convention that highlighted the diverse jobs blind people hold, and I think that more opportunities like these to showcase the different jobs blind people have, and holding their successes up as real successes is one way this can happen.</font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" class="">Another way we can address this is by way of mentorship. This could be accomplished on an individual level, maybe in concert with group meetings focusing on specific topics such as resume writing, leveraging linked in, answering common interview questions and basic interview etiquette as some examples.</font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" class=""> National service has been a great pathway to employment for many of it<span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">’</span>s alumni, getting more blind people into national service programs can be a great way to connect blind people to opportunities that will allow for the exploration of interests and potentially the discovery of passions.</font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" class=""> I look forward to other thoughts.</font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" class=""> Best,</font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" class=""> Darian </font></div></body></html>