[nabs-l] questions and assistance needed for starting online college

[Joshua Lester]

Hi, Melissa.
First of all, welcome to the list!
Please put your name in the E-mails, when you post.
The address shows up as mystical charm, instead of your name.
Please change that.
Thanks, Joshua

On 8/2/12, Mystical Charm <mysticalcharm at comcast.net> wrote:
> I have copied and pasted below an email that I sent to the VABS (Virginia
> Association of Blind Students) moderator but, I have not received any
> response so, I am writing here in hopes I can receive some assistance of
> some kind so that I can begin my studies.
>
> -------------------------
>
> Greetings to you Angie Matney,
>
> I wanted to write you in hopes that you may be of some assistance to me. I
> was unsure if I would correctly qualify to join the list or not for the
> Virginia Association of Blind Students or not so, I wanted to write you
> directly and find out if you can give me any information or a direction to
> go.
>
> Now to tell you a little bit about me and my situation.
>
> My name is Melissa, I am 32 years old and I am blind; I was born with a
> visual impairment, Glaucoma. Over the years I did have the normal
> treatments; the usage of multiple eye drops and in hospital surgery as well
> as laser surgery but, none of these were effective so, my vision declined
> over time and I am left with no usable vision.
>
> I truly believe I belong in the health field however, the particular area in
> health is viewed by some as absurd, while others try out different methods
> and can take it or leave it and others still like having the option to
> incorporate in methods in their life's and others truly believe in the
> benefits. What I am talking about is natural medicine. This covers
> complementary methods as well as alternative therapies. It includes anything
> from holistic dentistry and Chiropractics to Acupuncture to Homeopathy and
> Massage therapy and goes into the subjects of Vitamins and Minerals and
> exercise/fitness to energy work and meditation and so many more other
> topics.
>
> The average university/College may only have a course or two in a subject
> named above or something similar if they offer them at all. The only
> colleges that I know of that deal specifically with these subjects are
> Naturopathy Colleges and there are only perhaps 3-5 of them in the United
> States. I don't desire to move to one of these states in which one of these
> Naturopathy Colleges are located, the only alternative I have is searching
> the internet for legitimate schools online so that I can do the schoolwork
> from home. I have found a couple of Colleges that are of interest to me with
> what they offer and I have checked to see if their accreditation is
> legitimate or not and they do seem to be so.
>
> I do know that being a doctor is possible for a person who is blind; I once
> went to a lecture/discussion at my local hospital and the man that was
> speaking had been a doctor for a number of years and he was blind. At the
> time, I wasn't interested in being in the health field, I was a young
> teenager and was still trying to have fun and be me. Later, as I explored
> the internet and searched for doctors, I found these articles:
>
> blind doctor sees patients in a different way
>
> http://nfb.org/legacy/bm/bm01/bm0105/bm010514.htm
>
> blind medical student earns his me.d.
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7318398/ns/health-health_care/
>
> This next article is about a woman who went to one of the Naturopathy
> schools I had briefly mentioned above:
>
> PAC Mate User Story: Chris Cooke, Medical Student
> http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/PAC_Mate_HQ_ChrisCooke.asp
>
> This woman does have her own practice, which I hope to have one day, and she
> also does have a website:
>
> http://www.healing4you.net/
>
> I believe that Holistic Practitioner is what I am aiming for because again,
> the Naturopathic Colleges are just not possible for me to attend. I would
> eventually do what others would need to do by becoming board certified and
> then having a license to practice.
>
> One of the biggest challenges is the tuition for these programs/courses
> online and I am not sure how to go about finding out if there may be any
> possible scholarships I could apply for or not. Both of the Colleges that I
> would like to study from does not participate in any federal or state
> financial aid programs at this time, therefore, no federal grants are
> applicable (including Stafford and Pell). I would like to mention here some
> of the possibilities that the Admissions had told me about from one of the
> Colleges--
>
> -I was told that a private loan or alternative loan is possible, most big
> lenders (e.g. SunTrust, Wells Fargo, Citibank) will offer such options.
> However, I would like to stay away from loans if possible.
>
> -Other suggestions that were mentioned to me either do not apply or that are
> not possible for me. One of the Colleges does have a scholarship available
> to students however, with the requirements to be able to apply, I do not
> qualify. Also, an employer tuition grant does not apply to me.
>
> -Local Community Service Organizations such as Masonic Organizations,
>
> Eastern Star(OES), Moose and Elks Lodges, or Chambers of Commerce may
> provide grants.
>
>
>
> I was possibly thinking about contacting one of these but, didn't know how
> successful I would be. What came to mind was the Lions Club since they
> assist with people who are blind. I am not sure if they would have a
> grant/scholarship or what they may be able to provide. I did notice in the
> list of mailing lists the NFB has available to the public is the NFB Lions
> so, I would like to know if you recommend me writing to that list and
> providing this same information that I am sending to you?
>
>
>
> -Another suggestion that was mentioned was
>
> Vocational Rehabilitation Programs
>
> for assistance. What came to mind was the Virginia Department for the Blind
> and Visually Impaired. I know I would need to deal with the one located in
> Fairfax since that is the closest to me and I have also dealt with them in
> the past. I am apprehensive about contacting the Virginia Department for the
> Blind and Visually Impaired because my experiences with them in the past
> were quite unpleasant and some were even unprofessional. I don't know if the
> Virginia Department of the Blind and Visually Impaired can be of help in
> assisting with expenses or  what they may be able to do in my situation or
> if it would be willing to assist me in making my desire to help others come
> true.
>
>
>
> -Other suggestions were for women who have been harmed violently and again,
> this does not apply to me.
>
>
>
> I am willing to do what is required to earn a scholarship of some kind so
> that I may be able to proceed with taking these programs/courses if a
> scholarship's requirements apply to me.
>
>
>
> The only other thing that concerns me is, when I am enrolled into certain
> programs/courses, how to have certain materials more accessible or even in
> an alternative method like having something tactile. The doctors who are
> blind have had to have alternative and/or tactile materials of some kind.
> Whether in the Allopathic field or the Holistic field of health care, you
> need to study Anatomy/Physiology and reading the text book is good and all
> but, having something tactile to possibly go over the different areas of the
> body would be wonderful and also knowing where to get something like this is
> a question of mine as well that I need some assistance with how to find. In
> Holistic health care, you also have to identify the different types of herbs
> and the woman I had mentioned above, would have had to do so when she was
> going through her schooling and I would like to find out ways to be able to
> do this. I don't know if she had sighted assistance and someone did a very
> thorough job of explaining the look while she may have had the chance to
> examine the herbs tactily or not.
>
>
>
> So, what i would like to know is:
>
>
>
> -if the Virginia Association of Blind Students mailing list would apply to
> me or be of benefit.
>
> -if you have any suggestions of other lists or people I can contact to find
> out more about how to proceed with scholarships or finding out about certain
> alternative materials I will need and where to locate it so that I can have
> them as I move through the programs/courses.
>
> -If the Lions Club would be of help.
>
> -any other suggestions you may have for me.
>
>
>
> Thank you for your time and any help would be appreciated. Helping others in
> a more natural, holistic way has been a passion of mine for quite some time
> but, I really never knew where to begin and the more I looked into it, the
> more questions I had about beginning the process because of the finances as
> well as the materials I may need because of my disability.
>
>
>
> Thank you,
>
> Melissa Hambleton
>
> mysticalcharm at comcast.net
>
>
>
>
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