<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">From the desk of the President</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">April 5, 2010</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Greetings Members of GABS,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">I hope this message finds you in good health and in great spirits. This is the first of many monthly messages from your president to give you an update of what your student division has been up to and to provide you with resources that will be very helpful in your endeavors this month. This month's focus is on advocacy. </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Events for this month</span></font></b></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">GABS is hosting its 2nd Annual Student Convention </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Please come and join us as we host our second student convention where you can get up-to-date information about assistive technologies, socialize and network with other blind students from across the state, and learn more about what GABS and the NFB is and does. Please visit our website for more information. </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Monthly Conference Call on April 25, at 7:30. Call 1-888-354-0094 and enter the pass-code 716-9900. I look forward to seeing you there. </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Resources of the month</span></font></b></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Each month I will provide five resources that I have found and use that I feel you can utilize to achieve your personal and academic goals. This month I would like to introduce you to: </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">1. </span></font><b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">GaCollege411</span></font></b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">: is a website to help high school and post secondary students expand their opportunities. It includes information on careers, college planning, and much more! Visit their website at <a href="http://www.gacollege411.org">www.gacollege411.org</a></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">2. </span></font><b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">LinkedIn</span></font></b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">: is a website that allows its users to find past and present colleagues and classmates quickly. Essentially LinkedIn is like a professional Facebook where you can upload your resume and other information in order to keep in touch with your professional contacts. As a college student, it is important to utilize this resource to expand your network. Visit the site now at </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com">www.linkedin.com</a> </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">3. </span></font><b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">ETS.ORG</span></font></b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">: ETS provides information on standardized testing, such as GRE, SAT and other common exams. It includes accomodation information, test dates and other vital info. You can also visit this site for test practice and sample tests. This resource can be used by high school and college students. Visit the site now at</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://www.ets.org">www.ets.org</a></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">4. </span></font><b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Bookshare.org</span></font></b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">: BookShare offers the download of over 100000 accessible books. Students have a great opportunity of using this wonderful resource for free! Take advantage of this resource at </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://www.bookshare.org">www.bookshare.org</a> </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">5. </span></font><b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">RFB&D</span></font></b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">: Recordings for the Blind & Dyslexic, is a national nonprofit organization that is one of the largest audio textbook libraries with more than 58,475 titles in electronic versions and on CD. Learn more about getting a free account, if you are a student, at</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://www.rfbd.org">www.rfbd.org</a> </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Affiliate News</span></font></b></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">The NFB of Georgia's Mentoring Program for Students: The aim of the Georgians Empowered through Mentoring Success (GEMS) program is to link blind and low vision young adults throughout Georgia, ages sixteen to twenty-six, with successful blind and low vision adult mentors for the purpose of increasing their knowledge and participation in their educational and vocational rehabilitation processes with a resulting outcome of increased post-secondary academic success, high-quality employment, and community integration. </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">NFB Philosophy</span></font></b></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">To show how advocacy is from the perspective of a student I dediced to share a poem entitled "Frustrated Student at an IEP" </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">I sit for an infinite age,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Wondering just how loquacious</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> a person can be.</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Seems even stranger when a </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> stranger is talking;</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">After all,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">They’re discussing me.</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">I sit for an infinite age,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">In a room of seven or eight,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Wondering when, or if, I’ll ever</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> get my say,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Or is it too late.</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Indignantly, I think,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">“How can a goal ever be set, if </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> not by oneself,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">By other persons in a team of</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> two or three?”</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Strange, it seems,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Not right,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">After all,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">They’re discussing me. I sit for an infinite age,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Restlessly, shifting my feet</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> under the table,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Anticipating the onset of </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> freedom,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">When the pen is passed to me.</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">“Sign, sign.” they say,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">“Everything is done.”</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">And, as I touch the pen to paper,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">I wonder if my presence in the</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> room,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Is really known.</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Suddenly, I realize with a start,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">I’ve lost track of much of what</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> was said.</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Signing my name,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">I wonder, in my heart,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">What is in store for me in the</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> year ahead.</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">I sit for an infinite age,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">A frustrated student at my IEP.</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">How unusual the meeting is;</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">I think, next time,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">I will speak!</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">After all,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">They’re discussing me.</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Quote of the Month</span></font></b></div><div><i><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."</span></font></i></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">I hope all of you have a great month of April. I know you are approaching the end of the semester so stay strong and stay focused. I hope to see you all on April 17th, at the Student Convention. If you have any questions or would like to be apart of any of the above listings, contact a GABS board member. </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Sincerely Your President,</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Isaiah Wilcox</span></font></div><div><br></div></body></html>