[nabs-l] "Conversation starter"/question related to the field ofstudy you are pursuing

Sun Apr 16 00:33:54 UTC 2017

I enjoy singing pop and country music. I love kids wich is why I want
to be a teacher. I also go to a performing arts school. I take AP
english and have always enjoyed writing.

On 4/15/17, Cory McMahon via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I truly enjoy reading in-depth posts through which people very eloquently
> express themselves just as you did! What a moving post, Sami!
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sami Osborne
> via NABS-L
> Sent: Saturday, April 15, 2017 10:03 AM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Sami Osborne <ligne14 at verizon.net>
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] "Conversation starter"/question related to the field
> ofstudy you are pursuing
>
> Hi Corey and all,
>
> This is a great discussion topic and I'll share my experience here.  I'm
> also currently a freshman in college studying foreign languages.  How I got
> interested in that subject is simple: I've always been interested in this
> subject.  I started out learning two languages at home - English and French
> (I have a French mother and American father).  My mom started speaking
> French to me before I was even born - when she was still pregnant with me,
> and we speak it with each other every time we're in private (away from my
> dad, who can speak French but doesn't really like to away from our
> relatives)! LOL.  In addition, we have always (and still do, by the way) go
> to France every summer to visit our relatives.
> I really enjoy these trips, because, for me, it enables me to further
> practice and reinforce my French skills, by speaking it 24/7.  When I was
> little, this was especially the case with my grandfather.  I would go out
> with him almost every single morning to do shopping, and we would talk
> about
> practically everything there was to talk about.  He was such a nice, smart,
> and funny guy, and definitely one of my greatest role models when I was a
> kid.  He has unfortunately since passed away in 2012 when I was fourteen,
> which I was really sad about, but he will forever be in my memories.  I
> also
> really enjoy just seeing the wonderful attractions that Paris, and just the
> country of France in general, has to offer.  (By the way, I chose my email
> address, ligne14, because I really like going on one  of the Paris subway
> lines!):( When I was in the first grade, I also had the opportunity to
> study
> Spanish.  When I was in fourth and fifth grade, I entered a Spanish
> spelling
> Bee that my teacher was organizing for the first time.  I won the Bee in
> fourth grade, and I got, I beealieve third place in fifth grade.  I was so
> proud of all those accomplishments.  When I started middle school, I
> continued pursuing Spanish, although, I'll admit, I did get into kind of a
> battle with my parents over whether I should continue with that or study
> French (they only offered both languages at the school I was attending).  I
> wanted to learn French because at the time, I could speak it, but wasn't
> very good at writing (I'm still not, by the way).  My parents convinced me
> that I should just keep taking Spanish, because they just thought that I'd
> be bored with the class since I already speak French fluently.  After sixth
> grade, I'd changed from public school to a school for the blind, due to
> major problems I had with my new TVI as well as some of my teachers.  It
> was
> at the school for the blind where I really made the final decision to
> pursue
> languages o a potential career goal.
> I started that school in the seventh grade, and I had to take Spanish,
> which
> was the only language they offered.  I've always gotten high 90;'s in my
> Spanish classes every year.  A year after I started at the school for the
> blind, in the eighth grade, my social studies class took a field trip to
> the
> UN.  During that trip, our tour guide pointed out the language interpreters
> to us and what they do.  I became so intrigued, listening to people in the
> next room speaking in one language while the interpreters were translating
> through headphones to other languages (I believe that meeting was actually
> conducted in French).  After the UN trip, I thought to myself, "You know,
> if
> interpreters can do that, so can I - this will be the job that I'm going to
> pursue."
> Later on that year, I got an assignment in my Home and Careers class to
> write a report about any job that we wanted, and I chose language
> interpreting.  We also had to present our reports, and my teacher thought I
> did a really good job on it, explaining exactly what language interpreters
> do and convincing the class about why I wanted to pursue it as a career.
>
> Coincidentally, that same year, my Spanish teacher told me that since I was
> fluent in three languages, I could become a foreign language schoolteacher
> if I wanted.  I've also added it to my bucket list of potential careers I'd
> like to pursue.
>
> Speaking of jobs, when I was a junior in high school, I actually had the
> opportunity to practice both interpreting and teaching within my school
> campus.  I had a job where I would translate documents such as the school's
> news-letter into Spanish, because there were a lot of Hispanic parents who
> don't know any English.
> In addition, I also taught my technology teacher French, (she had always
> wanted to learn it,) and she taught me how to be an effective teacher to my
> future students.  Both of these jobs have been great experiences for me,
> because they not only allowed me to practice my language skills, but I've
> also learned a lot from them.  I am therefore very thankful for both of my
> teachers for offering me both of these positions.
>
> During my senior year of high school, my Spanish teacher retired.
> I was honored to speak during a school assembly, in which I told the whole
> school what my Spanish teacher really meant to me.  For example, as you
> guys
> have already seen, she has been really supportive of my passion for
> languages.  Whenever we spoke (which was often) we would always talk in
> Spanish.  This enabled me to further practice my skills with her outside of
> regular class.
> With that said, when I was taking Spanish, I can remember countless days
> when I would just hang out with my teacher for a few minutes bef/af class,
> and we would just chat about anything and everything.  Those are definitely
> one of my most memorable times at my school for the blind.  My teacher was
> very moved by my speech, to the point where, while the crowd was
> applauding,
> she gave me a very tight hug and just kept thanking me over and over.  I
> was
> also told that she was sitting right next to me and had tears in her eyes
> the whole time I spoke.
>
> When I had to write my college essay for the different schools I was
> applying to, I basically described the same thing that I'm telling you guys
> right now.  At the end of my senior year, we took a family vacation to
> Spain
> for my high school graduation present.  During that trip, my younger
> brother
> and I were in charge of translating everything for our parents and doing
> the
> talking, since their knowledge of Spanish is very limited.
> Again, this allowed me to have many interactions with people, and therefore
> reinforcing my skills/knowledge of the language.
> After we came back from Europe that August, I had the opportunity to do an
> internship at a local independent living center, in which I did some
> interpreting over the phone as well as played the piano for seniors at a
> nearby nursing home.  Doing this, I had my first experience of doing a job
> out in the "real world,"
> and I have since added this great experience to my resume.
>
> I took a gap year after my senior  year of high school to pursue my
> blindness training at a center in my native NY.  After graduating from the
> center, I started college (where I am now) and declared my major in Romance
> Languages.  I'm now studying Italian in addition to Spanish, which I've
> always wanted to do, since they're all (French, Spanish, and Italian) in
> the
> romance languages group.
>
> I also forgot to mention that I've always been interested in learning new
> languages in my spare time.  As a result, I've received many COULD's for
> learning new ones, including ones for German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese,
> Greek, Japanese, Arabic, and even Gaelic (from Ireland).  I really enjoyed
> listening to the COULD's (I don't as often unfortunately) because they
> allow
> me to gain more knowledge and add more information to my probably already
> full brain! LOL.
>
> Now, I'm having ow same internship that I did two years ago, as soon as I
> finish this semester off in May, and am really looking forward to it.  I'm
> really hoping I'll be able to have even more translations than I did last
> time.
>
> I know that this is a much more in-depth analysis of my choice of study,
> but, as you guys can see, my interest/experience is very complicated! :(I
> sincerely apologize to everyone for the very lengthy message, but hope you
> all enjoyed reading it.
>
> Thanks and enjoy your weekends,
>
> Sami     ----- Original Message -----
> From: Miranda via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Fri, 14 Apr 2017 23:29:13 -0400
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] "Conversation starter"/question related to the field
> ofstudy you are pursuing
>
> Hi,
> This is a great conversation, and I look forward to hearing the experiences
> that others share as well.  My interest in the human services field was
> really heightened during my summer internship in 2015.  I have the
> opportunity to welcome refugees to the United States, and I saw the
> problems
> that they experienced as a result of their trauma and resettlement journey.
> However, I also saw a great deal of resilience and hope in the midst of
> what
> may seem to some as insurmountable obstacles.
> This 13-week internship and all that I learned solidified my desire to
> welcome internationals to the United States as my long-term career goal.
> Thanks for starting this conversation, and again, I look forward to hearing
> others' experiences!
>
> Best wishes, Miranda
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>  On Apr 14, 2017, at 9:51 PM, Cory McMahon via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
>
>  All,
>
>
>
>  What attracted you to the field of of study you are pursuing?
>
>
>
>  I'm majoring in Human Services because I, personally, appreciate the
> opportunity to help people, particularly in the area of the improvement of
> lives of individuals with developmental disabilities.  We're coming a long
> way in the integration of this population into the broader community, and
> I'm truly blessed to be part of the implementation of that change.
>
>
>
>  Sincerely,
>
>
>
>  Cory McMahon
>
>
>
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