[nabs-l] questions and assistance needed for starting onlinecollege

Sat Aug 4 21:17:56 UTC 2012

Thank you Arielle for the information. I will check into the scholarships 
for both national and in VA. I had looked over the archives for the VABS 
list but, there isn't really any conversations that take place, only 
announcements so, I'll probably just stick with this list. It is good to 
know that there have been scholarships awarded to students that had taken 
courses online because that was a concern of mine.

Melissa
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Arielle Silverman" <arielle71 at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2012 6:32 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] questions and assistance needed for starting 
onlinecollege

> Hi Melissa,
> Welcome to the list. You are definitely welcome to join the VABS email
> list, but this one will give you a lot more responses. I would suggest
> you apply for the National Federation of the Blind's scholarship
> program this winter. They award 30 scholarships each year to blind
> students across the country ranging from $3000 to $12000. They have
> given scholarships to online students in the past. You can learn about
> their program by going to
> www.nfb.org/scholarships
> Also, the NFB of Virginia should have a similar scholarship program
> that will be less competitive than the national program.
> The Lions Club might also be able to help.
> I'm sorry I don't know the answers to your questions about tactile
> materials. You may want to try to find out exactly what courses you
> will be required to take in order to figure out what kinds of tactile
> materials you might benefit from. Others on this list may also be able
> to share their experiences with massage therapy and other such fields
> of study.
> Best of luck,
> Arielle
>
> 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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>
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