[Nfb-science] qualifying exam accommodations

[firoz]

oh yes i just join the list. i am from india and now permenant resident of 
america and staying at san jose

i am master degree holder in chemistry and education as well but all from 
india

i am totally blind and looking forward to settel here

hope i will get good friends here

firoz
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephanie Hirst" <sjhhirst at gmail.com>
To: "NFB Science and Engineering Division List" <nfb-science at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 05, 2010 10:09 AM
Subject: Re: [Nfb-science] qualifying exam accommodations


> Sorry for the repeated emails, not sure what happened there.  Out of
> curiosity, are there any chemists or biologists on this list?  The only
> chemist I know of is dr supalo...
>
> On Oct 5, 2010 11:51 AM, "Stephanie Hirst" <sjhhirst at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Thank you all for the insightful comments.  This listserv has been
> very helpful to me, and I love how it's so progressive and
> encouraging.  It's nice to be finally be in contact with such
> resourceful people who can understand being visual impaired.
>
> I do admit that I'm only 25 and therefore have a lot of things to
> learn in this life.  I have never, at least form my own perspective,
> tried to use my visual impairment as an excuse to make things easier
> for me or to get people to feel sorry for me.  In fact, it rarely
> comes up in conversation, and people with whom I interact even admit
> that they forget I'm VI in the first place.  One could even argue that
> this is a bad thing or a good thing, but really, I've just gotten so
> accustomed to adapting myself to the world around me instead of vice
> versa.  I am not blaming my failure on the exam on the idea that it
> was unfair.  I do think that I was at a slight disadvantage that may
> have played a role, but there certainly were other factors that had
> nothing to do with my vision leading to the resulting failure.
>
> I work very hard, even to the point of the sacrifice of my well-being.
> If I did not work hard, I wouldn't have been first in my class in
> high school, or graduated with honors in chemistry in college, or been
> accepted to one of the best structural biology programs in the
> country.   I recently got a manuscript accepted as a second-year
> graduate student.  This is an accomplishment for anyone, even someone
> without a disability.
>
> The truth is, though, that being albino does play a huge role in my
> life.  It is part of who I am, and it affects my day-to-day living and
> functioning in a sighted world.  For example, I actually accommodate
> myself to other people normally by making powerpoint presentations and
> posters, even though these things take me much longer to prepare than
> someone with good vision.  I cannot see my own presentations very
> well, but I do them for the audience's sake.
>
> The trick here is to accept that the visual impairment does cause a
> person to be at a disadvantage in at least a lot of cases, but to not
> let it become an excuse to get what you want.  I strive to not make
> excuses for myself and to be considered equal to everyone else.
> Still, sometimes people need assistance and accommodations to make
> their goals achievable.  Structural biology is a field of science that
> is centered around being able to visualize things.  I do have enough
> vision to do this, but it's difficult even for a completely sighted
> person.   I do not make blindness a topic of conversation, but I'm
> only now really acknowledging that it actually does affect how I do
> things.  It is difficult to understand why I am slower at doing some
> things than my sighted peers until I realize that it is because they
> can see better.  Then, I am not feeling inferior, slower, or dumber.
> I just understand that I struggle with some things more than others,
> and that this is fine.  It's life.  They do not look down upon me or
> pity me, and I do not pity myself.
>
> everyone has a different perspective, and this is my own.  It's
> starting to work for me, too =)
>
> ~ Stephanie
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 4, 2010 at 11:18 PM, David Hertweck
> <david.hertweck at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>> I am blind ...
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