[nabs-l] NABS Notes -- February 2016

Tue Mar 1 03:15:02 UTC 2016

Hello Fellow Federationists,
Happy Leap Day! Please take some time to read through all of the
information in this month's edition of the NABS Notes. You can click
on the following URL to read the Notes, view the attachment, or they
are copied and pasted below for your convenience. Please let me know
if you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns about the monthly
NABS Notes so that they can be the best they can be!
Here's the link:
http://nabslink.org/content/nabs-notes-february-2016
And here's the text:
NABS Notes February 2016

The National Association of Blind Students --
A proud division of the National Federation of the Blind.

In this edition of the NABS monthly bulletin:

1.	The NFB National Scholarship – APPLY TODAY!
2.	Report Your Experiences with Pearson Products
3.	The NFB National Scholarship: Upcoming Membership Call
4.	Attention High School Students! – NFB EQ
5.	The NFB Summer Internship Program
6.	February NABS Blog Update
7.	State Updates
8.	February NABS Board Meeting Minutes

The NFB National Scholarship – APPLY TODAY!

Are you legally blind?
Do you reside in the United States, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico?
Are you pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time, postsecondary
course of study at a U.S. institution in the 2016 scholastic year?
Are you available to attend the entire NFB National Convention in
Orlando, Florida from June 30-July 5, 2016?
Are you eager to meet Federation leaders and network with some of the
brightest, most passionate mentors out there?

If you said yes to all of these questions, then we strongly encourage
you to apply to our 2016 National Scholarship Program!
To recognize achievement by blind scholars, the National Federation of
the Blind annually offers blind college students in the United States
and Puerto Rico the opportunity to win one of thirty merit-based,
national-level scholarships ranging in value of $3,000 to $12,000. All
scholarships awarded are based on academic excellence, community
service, and leadership.
Visit our website at www.nfb.org/scholarships to begin your application!

Remember: applications, along with all necessary documents, must be
submitted no later than March 31, 2016. Do not wait until the end of
February to start gathering additional information and beginning the
online form.

Report your experiences with Pearson products

The NFB has engaged in a consultation agreement with Pearson in an
effort to improve the accessibility of Pearson’s educational products.
It is important that we report to Pearson the barriers that NFB
members are experiencing. If you have encountered access barriers with
any Pearson product, such as MyLab or Course Connect, please contact
Valerie Yingling, Paralegal, at vyingling at nfb.org, or 410-659-9314
ext. 2440.

The NFB National Scholarship: Upcoming Membership Call

Are you interested in applying for an NFB national scholarship, but
have some questions about forms, requirements, the application
process, or the national NFB convention that scholarship winners
attend? Then join NABS on February 28 at 7 PM eastern as we hear from
a scholarship committee representative about all of the ins and outs
of the scholarship application and program. Dial into the conference
line to participate using the following information: phone number
(605) 475-6700, access code 7869673. Come get all of your
scholarship-related questions answered!

Attention High School Students! – NFB EQ

Are you interested or know someone who might be interested in pursuing
work in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) after high
school? Do you enjoy investing your talent and energy in solving
real-world problems? Join the National Federation of the Blind for NFB
EQ, a week-long engineering program for blind and low-vision high
school students.

At this program, you will collaborate with other students to solve
authentic problems that exist in developing countries. You will spend
the week working on a team to engineer solutions to a given problem.
Your team will create proposals with accompanying models, which you
will pitch to various stakeholders. After constructing life-size
prototypes of your designs, you will test them in authentic settings.
You will also have the opportunity to meet and collaborate with a
number of engineers from across the country, some of whom happen to be
blind.

To learn more and to apply, visit:
www.blindscience.org/NFBEQ

NOTE: State student leaders, please spread the word! Reach out to high
school students and schools in your state so that they are aware of
this exciting opportunity.

The NFB Summer Internship Program

The application date is right around the corner! Have you considered
applying for the unique experience of interning at the NFB Jernigan
Institute in Baltimore? For more information, visit the following
link:
https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/national-federation-blind-2016-summer-internship-program
Remember, all application materials are due on March 11.

February NABS Blog Update

Often times we want to get involved in school or in the community, but
sometimes we just aren’t sure where to start. Check out this step by
step approach to getting involved by Lizzie Muhammad. The link is:
http://nabslink.org/content/step-step-approach-getting-involved .
If you have any ideas for articles or would like to write one, you can
email Bre Brown at bbrown at nfbtx.org. Stay tuned for the blog update in
March.

State Updates

All updates are printed below as they were received from their senders.

Arizona:
Greetings from your Arizona students. The new year has officially been
welcomed with January business out of the way, and February underway.
Following a very challenging but still very productive Washington
Seminar we are proud to report that we were able to send 9 Arizonians
to our nations capital including two of our students division board.
Along with our advocacy work on Capital Hill we are working hard to
continue our advocacy work locally during our Phoenix Seminar.

Finally the students division is organizing a students seminar with a
theme of "Transitioning". We are going to have break out sessions,
presenters, and a panel to discuss everything from transitioning from
high school to college, college to the work place, training facilities
to the work place, and even some health and wellness, and NFB
philosophy. We are working towards 50 student participants from all
over Arizona. Thank you all for taking the time to read our state
updates and lets go live the life we want.

Colorado:
Now that our Broncos have won the superbowl, we have winners for our
NFL playoffs pool fundraiser.  Congratulations to Richie Flores from
Texas for coming in second place, and Karen Rogers from Colorado for a
first place win!  The division is planning an informative student
seminar for April where we plan to talk about many topics related to
being a successful blind student.  We are also starting to plan a
membership outreach event in Boulder, in order to reach out to new
students.  With the NFB's Colorado Center for the Blind close by, we
are able to work with them in many ways, including mentoring and
education at the Colorado School for the Blind, working with younger
students in Denver to facilitate fun activities that teach skills and
positive philosophy, and speaking to the center students on different
topics important to blind students.  We are experiencing membership
growth and looking forward to what is to come!

Maryland:
The Maryland Association of Blind Students continues to focus our
energy on membership growth and rebuilding. To begin this process, our
Membership/Communications Committee held our division's first
membership call on February 20. In this call, participants got a
chance to meet the current MDABS Board, learn about our committees and
the work they do, and share their ideas with our leaders. Though
attendance was a bit lower than expected, we were able to introduce a
few enthusiastic new members to the work of the organization, in which
they were eager to get involved. Our Board is also beginning to make
plans for a student seminar focused on independent living skills, to
be held in early May. Stay tuned for more information on this seminar
as we get logistics worked out.

Massachusetts:
MASSABS is excited to report that 5 of the 8 NFBMA members in
attendance at Washington Seminar were students, two of whom were there
for the first time including Meaghan Roper and Dylan Hedtler Gaudette,
President Precious Perez also endured 7 flight cancellations to make
it.

Our state convention is Feb. 26-28 in Boston and we will be electing a
new board. We are very excited to have Kathryn Webster as our NABS
Rep. In addition, we have 50/50 raffle tickets for sale that are
already up to about $250 in prize money and climbing. If you want to
buy some, contact Derek Manners at derekmanners at gmail.com and he can
take your order via PayPal. Finally, we will be auctioning off some 3D
printed items as well as some fudge and cookies made by our talented
baker, Secretary Meaghan Roper.

New Jersey:
In January NJABS raised about 200 dollars conducting a raffle at the
NFBNJ holiday party put on by the state affiliate. NJABS is also
planning our first seminar with the newly elected board. NJABS is also
working with PABS to put on this seminar. It should be a great
collaboration and we are looking forward to a great event.

Texas:
The Texas Association of Blind students in conjunction with the Texas
Parents of Blind Children will be holding our annual youth conference
in Dallas, April 8-10. The conference is for Parents of blind
children, blind students, and related professionals to come together
during this exciting weekend to network, learn, and have lots of fun!
We will have exhibits, a reception, an open TABS board meeting, a
joint session for parents, students, and professionals, a formal
luncheon, breakout sessions for students and parents, a recreational
trip, and more. We are pleased to welcome Jeannie Massay from Oklahoma
as our national representative. This is always an exciting time here
in Texas, and this year will not be any different. You can find all of
the details at www.nfbtx.org. If you have any questions, feel free to
email me at bbrown at nfbtx.org .

February NABS Board Meeting Minutes

National Association of Blind Students

Board Meeting Minutes
Sunday, February 21, 2016

Meeting called to order at 9:07 p.m.

Members Present:

Sean Whalen (President)
Candice Chapman (1st Vice President)
Bre Brown (2nd Vice President)
Kathryn Webster (Secretary/Treasurer)
Hindley Williams (Board Member 1)
Garret Mooney (Board member 2)
Chris Nusbaum (Board member 3)
Michael Ausbun (Board Member 4)

Treasurer’s Report:
Checking account balance: $3,278.58
Savings account balance: $7,157.27

Washington Seminar Success:
NABS Café wristbands: $345
NABS Auction: $521; awaiting money from Everett and Virgil
NABS Winter Seminar Registration: $150
Raffle tickets: $12
NABS Café Bar costs: -$185
We still owe Sean $2,296.16 and will reimburse him once an expenditure
sheet has been sent to the Wash Sem Funding Committee;
$300 for Sean’s flight;
And $200 for one more student who received funding from NABS to attend
Washington Seminar
Stay tuned for final numbers once all the money has been handled with
National, funded students, and Sean.

Wash Sem Debrief:
Great turnout! We had more than 50 attendees at the NABS Winter
Seminar, which is more than last year and more than we expected given
the weather.
A huge thank you to President Riccobono for combining the reception
and the NABS Café into one event; and for the match from National in
order to get more than 20 students who would otherwise have not
attended due to financial burden.
Chris will send thank you emails to each presenter from our NABS meeting.
We made great connections with various affiliate leaders and student
leaders; and thank you for joining us in Washington DC!

State Updates

Hindley:
Alaska does not have a student division, but Hindley keeps them in the
loop. Attending a few conference calls. Vermont is harder to keep in
touch with.

Garret:
Garret is working closely with California, Colorado, and Arizona.
Arizona is going to have a student seminar on April 9. Colorado is
having a student seminar next week. There is a new student president
in Arizona as of this week. Garret is helping states build
relationships with affiliate leadership.

Chris:
Maryland had their first membership call of the year last night.
Michigan is doing well with their new president; working on a seminar.
Illinois is having a student seminar this spring. Difficulty
contacting New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

Michael:
Working closely with Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette with Maine. Nevada and
Ohio are working closely with Michael. South Carolina is doing well.
Oklahoma is having a student seminar in conjunction with the Oklahoma
affiliate.

Mid-Year Review/Moving Forward

Communications:
NABS Notes: going well. Let Hindley know if you have any questions,
suggestions, or concerns.
NABS Notes have been effectively blasted across our database,
discussion list, and master list.

Social media:
Doing a solid job. NABS Notes and blog posts are broadcasted on social
media. Chris and other board members need to do more blindness
articles to trigger discussions. Chris should work on putting out more
NABS updates on social media. Get photos and captions to Chris while
we are NABS Repping at various State Conventions.

Slate blog posts:
They are becoming more and more consistent. We are posting at least
once a month. We would love for more ideas or articles to post. We
should revamp the student division spotlight post for different states
once a month.
Kathryn will look into creating a comment section for the blog.

Fundraising:
Have done a great job! We still have our GoFundMe page. Kathryn will
post an update that advertises NABS from an organization standpoint,
more so than the one initiative to raise money for Wash Sem.
We are awaiting the $240 from the Applebee’s fundraiser and the amount
for the Chipotle one in California.
Kathryn is going to coordinate a 5-k walk/run at Wake Forest to raise
money toward National Convention expenses. We could look into grant
writing if money gets tight in the future, but we are doing very well
as of right now.

Membership:
We have our scholarship membership call on Sunday, February 28 at 7pm
eastern. Join Scholarship Committee Chair Patti Chang to get all of
your questions answered!

NABS Reps:
Kathryn will be in Massachusetts this coming weekend;
Bre in Alabama the following weekend;
And Michael in Idaho at the end of April.

Meeting adjourned at 10:38 p.m.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions,
concerns or suggestions. The NABS Board works for you, and we want to
know how we’re doing! Thanks for reading, and we’ll be back in March.

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

NABS Notes February 2016

The National Association of Blind Students --
A proud division of the National Federation of the Blind.

In this edition of the NABS monthly bulletin:

1.	The NFB National Scholarship – APPLY TODAY!
2.	Report Your Experiences with Pearson Products
3.	The NFB National Scholarship: Upcoming Membership Call
4.	Attention High School Students! – NFB EQ
5.	The NFB Summer Internship Program
6.	February NABS Blog Update
7.	State Updates
8.	February NABS Board Meeting Minutes

The NFB National Scholarship – APPLY TODAY!

Are you legally blind?
Do you reside in the United States, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico?
Are you pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time, postsecondary
course of study at a U.S. institution in the 2016 scholastic year?
Are you available to attend the entire NFB National Convention in
Orlando, Florida from June 30-July 5, 2016?
Are you eager to meet Federation leaders and network with some of the
brightest, most passionate mentors out there?

If you said yes to all of these questions, then we strongly encourage
you to apply to our 2016 National Scholarship Program!
To recognize achievement by blind scholars, the National Federation of
the Blind annually offers blind college students in the United States
and Puerto Rico the opportunity to win one of thirty merit-based,
national-level scholarships ranging in value of $3,000 to $12,000. All
scholarships awarded are based on academic excellence, community
service, and leadership.
Visit our website at www.nfb.org/scholarships to begin your application!

Remember: applications, along with all necessary documents, must be
submitted no later than March 31, 2016. Do not wait until the end of
February to start gathering additional information and beginning the
online form.

Report your experiences with Pearson products

The NFB has engaged in a consultation agreement with Pearson in an
effort to improve the accessibility of Pearson’s educational products.
It is important that we report to Pearson the barriers that NFB
members are experiencing. If you have encountered access barriers with
any Pearson product, such as MyLab or Course Connect, please contact
Valerie Yingling, Paralegal, at vyingling at nfb.org, or 410-659-9314
ext. 2440.

The NFB National Scholarship: Upcoming Membership Call

Are you interested in applying for an NFB national scholarship, but
have some questions about forms, requirements, the application
process, or the national NFB convention that scholarship winners
attend? Then join NABS on February 28 at 7 PM eastern as we hear from
a scholarship committee representative about all of the ins and outs
of the scholarship application and program. Dial into the conference
line to participate using the following information: phone number
(605) 475-6700, access code 7869673. Come get all of your
scholarship-related questions answered!

Attention High School Students! – NFB EQ

Are you interested or know someone who might be interested in pursuing
work in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) after high
school? Do you enjoy investing your talent and energy in solving
real-world problems? Join the National Federation of the Blind for NFB
EQ, a week-long engineering program for blind and low-vision high
school students.

At this program, you will collaborate with other students to solve
authentic problems that exist in developing countries. You will spend
the week working on a team to engineer solutions to a given problem.
Your team will create proposals with accompanying models, which you
will pitch to various stakeholders. After constructing life-size
prototypes of your designs, you will test them in authentic settings.
You will also have the opportunity to meet and collaborate with a
number of engineers from across the country, some of whom happen to be
blind.

To learn more and to apply, visit:
www.blindscience.org/NFBEQ

NOTE: State student leaders, please spread the word! Reach out to high
school students and schools in your state so that they are aware of
this exciting opportunity.

The NFB Summer Internship Program

The application date is right around the corner! Have you considered
applying for the unique experience of interning at the NFB Jernigan
Institute in Baltimore? For more information, visit the following
link:
https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/national-federation-blind-2016-summer-internship-program
Remember, all application materials are due on March 11.

February NABS Blog Update

Often times we want to get involved in school or in the community, but
sometimes we just aren’t sure where to start. Check out this step by
step approach to getting involved by Lizzie Muhammad. The link is:
http://nabslink.org/content/step-step-approach-getting-involved .
If you have any ideas for articles or would like to write one, you can
email Bre Brown at bbrown at nfbtx.org. Stay tuned for the blog update in
March.

State Updates