[Nfb-or] Student Outreach

[T. Joseph Carter]

It is.  It's just a stepping stone to where I am going, but it's a 
very hard won stepping stone.  The roadblocks keep coming and I keep 
finding ways around, over, or right through them.  I'll leave no 
doubt in anyone's mind that I have earned this degree by June, 
whether it is conferred or not.

When this is all over with, I really must write it down somewhere.  
The change that made this possible happened--or maybe just began to 
happen--while I was in Colorado.  The Federation had a lot to do with 
me getting myself to this point.

Joseph


On Sun, May 03, 2009 at 01:01:33AM -0700, Haben Girma wrote:
> Congrats, Joseph! Is this the master's in special education?
>
> T. Joseph Carter wrote:
>> Celyn and I have both been part of such presentations before with the  
>> Commission for the Blind.  They haven't done one recently to my  
>> knowledge. Renee's done on 6/13, Joseph's not done until 6/14 because 
>> he's walking that Saturday.  *smile*
>>
>> Joseph
>>
>>
>> On Sat, May 02, 2009 at 11:39:05PM -0700, Haben Girma wrote:
>>> Dear Mike,
>>>
>>> You have a great idea. Perhaps we should write letters to the  
>>> schools  and agencies offering to give presentations. I used to give  
>>> presentations in my community back in California after I came back  
>>> from  a volunteer trip to West Africa. All of us--Joseph, Renee,  
>>> Bill, and  others--have stories to share with students. We could go  
>>> to schools that  have blind students to provide advice about getting  
>>> into college and  succeeding in college, and in the process  
>>> representing the NFB of Oregon  and encouraging the students to join. 
>>> I absolutely agree with you that  friendships are powerful tools for  
>>> drawing people into an organization.  I'm contemplating an outreach  
>>> program that would result in both  friendships and new members...
>>>
>>> The summer months are approaching and many high school and college   
>>> students might be harder to reach. Although if we get the word out  
>>> soon  enough we might be able to get in touch with those whose  
>>> semesters don't  end until mid June. I'll have plenty of time in a  
>>> week when finals are  over at Lewis & Clark College. Perhaps Joseph  
>>> and Renee will be done  with their semesters soon, too.
>>>
>>> There are several of us around the state and we can all focus on   
>>> reaching out to those in our regions. Those in the Portland region  
>>> have  had two meetings thus far, but, if I remember correctly, there  
>>> are  students in Corvallis and Eugene who are interested but have not 
>>> yet  been able to meet with other students in the division due to   
>>> transportation and distance... The student division can have a  
>>> meeting  during state Convention, though, so that will give us a  
>>> chance to meet  everyone from all the corners of Oregon. Until then,  
>>> we can use letters,  emails, and those who are interested could do  
>>> presentations at the  schools in their areas.
>>>
>>> Would anyone be interested in going to a school in Oregon to give a   
>>> presentation?
>>>
>>>
>>> Haben
>>>
>>> Mike Freeman wrote:
>>>> Haben:
>>>>
>>>> I have not met you although I more-than-anxious to do so. I'm  
>>>> President of the NFB of Washington.
>>>>
>>>> Your ideas below are great and should all be tried. But in my   
>>>> experience, the only thing that *really* works is personal  
>>>> outreach,  i.e., going to the high schools and colleges and 
>>>> actually advertising  for and holding meetings to gauge the 
>>>> interest of blind students. Making friends is the best way to 
>>>> welcome and engage new members. I know funds and time are tight but 
>>>> the personal touch will accomplish far more than will written 
>>>> correspondence although email works somewhat better in that many of 
>>>> your generation consider it almost as good as personal 
>>>> communication.
>>>>
>>>> Just one old curmudgeon's opinion.
>>>>
>>>> Warmly,
>>>>
>>>> Mike Freeman, President
>>>> National Federation of the Blind of Washington
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Haben Girma" <habnkid at aol.com>
>>>> To: "NFB of Oregon mailing list" <nfb-or at nfbnet.org>; "Vivian M.  
>>>> Smith" <vmsmith76 at charter.net>
>>>> Sent: Saturday, May 02, 2009 1:16 PM
>>>> Subject: [Nfb-or] Student Outreach
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hello all,
>>>>
>>>> The student division wants to reach out to more students, and we need
>>>> help sending letters to high schools, colleges, and agencies for the
>>>> blind in Oregon that can pass our message on to blind students. Please
>>>> let me know if you would like to help out.
>>>>
>>>> Haben
>>>>
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