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<DIV>Congratulations to our own Melissa Lomax.</DIV>
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From: qmsingleton@comcast.net<BR>Reply-to: njabs-talk@nfbnet.org<BR>To:
njabs-talk@nfbnet.org<BR>Sent: 6/12/2010 5:31:16 P.M. Eastern Daylight
Time<BR>Subj: [Njabs-talk] Great News to Share<BR></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>The following message was sent to Joe Ruffalo this
morning. <BR><BR>Congratulations! Both girls are making New Jersey
Proud!<BR><BR>Two New Jersey students have<BR><BR>> been selected to
participate in an empowering and memorable experience in<BR><BR>> Damascus,
Syria. The Open Hands Foundation has chosen Shafeka Hashash
and<BR><BR>> I, Melissa Lomax, to take part in the Youth Ability
Summit. This<BR><BR>> opportunity will allow us to continue
advocating for others and making a<BR><BR>> difference in the lives of many
people across the world!<BR><BR>><BR><BR>> Both of us students are
active members of the National Federation of the<BR><BR>> Blind, on both
national and state levels. Shafeka Hashash is the current<BR><BR>>
Vice President of the New Jersey Association of Blind Students, an
active<BR><BR>> member of New Jersey's Northeast chapter, and speaker for
both Parents of<BR><BR>> Blind Children and for NFB state
conventions. I am an active member of<BR><BR>> the Greater Baltimore
NFB chapter in Maryland, a board member of the<BR><BR>> Maryland
Association of Blind Students, a speaker at New Jersey NFB<BR><BR>>
conventions, and a 2010 National Scholarship winner. Moreover, the
both<BR><BR>> of us have benefited from being participants in the LEAD
(Leadership,<BR><BR>> Education, Advocacy, and Determination) program. This
program unites New<BR><BR>> Jersey high school students with successful,
blind mentors to learn about<BR><BR>> technology, issues facing the blind,
and ways to gain success and<BR><BR>> independence in the future. In
addition, students learn and increase<BR><BR>> their mobility, daily
living, communication, and organizational skills.<BR><BR>><BR><BR>> With
the confidence and training provided by LEAD and the NFB, we have<BR><BR>>
learned not to allow our blindness to stop us from pursuing our goals
and<BR><BR>> aspirations. Instead, we are active members in our
communities with a<BR><BR>> desire to continue helping others.
Shafeka is a rising senior at Bergen<BR><BR>> County Academy. She
serves as captain of the mock trial team, a<BR><BR>> representative of
Model United Nations, a member of the Junior Statesmen<BR><BR>> of America,
the National Honor Society, and the Tri-M Music Honor Society,<BR><BR>> and
a volunteer for the Boy Scouts of America and many other community<BR><BR>>
service activities. Currently, Shafeka strives to receive an<BR><BR>>
International Baccalaureate diploma in addition to her high school
one.<BR><BR>> After graduation, she hopes to attend either Columbia or
Princeton<BR><BR>> University to major in international affairs or
political science and<BR><BR>> minor in Middle Eastern studies. Upon
receiving her bachelor's degree,<BR><BR>> her aspirations will lead her to
law school and to a career in the United<BR><BR>>
Nations.<BR><BR>><BR><BR>> I, Melissa, presently attend the University
of Maryland-Baltimore County<BR><BR>> and in the fall, I will be a
sophomore. Pursuing an English Literature<BR><BR>> major, English
writing minor, and secondary education certificate, my<BR><BR>> aspirations
are to become a high school English teacher. This career
goal<BR><BR>> suits<BR><BR>> me because I have always enjoyed helping
others and as a teacher, I can<BR><BR>> spend a great deal of time
assisting students with improving their skills<BR><BR>> and strengthening
their futures. Currently, I am a member of the National<BR><BR>>
Society of Collegiate Scholars and English Council of Majors and Minors,
a<BR><BR>> volunteer for several non-profit organizations, a leader and
coordinator<BR><BR>> of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and an advocate
for solving the<BR><BR>> world hunger crisis by assisting in the
coordination of a world hunger<BR><BR>> banquet and a "Thirsty for Water"
day event.<BR><BR>><BR><BR>> On Monday, June 7th, we were notified by
the Open hands Initiative and<BR><BR>> congratulated for our acceptance
into the Youth Ability Summit. This<BR><BR>> summit is based off of
the United Nations Convention for the Rights of<BR><BR>> Persons with
Disabilities. We are two of only ten Americans selected, all<BR><BR>>
of which have different disabilities and range from age fifteen
through<BR><BR>> twenty-one. Our trip will begin on July 29, 2010,
when we will fly out to<BR><BR>> Damascus, Syria for six days. There,
we will meet with ten Syrian<BR><BR>> advocates of the same age
range.<BR><BR>><BR><BR>> This summit will first begin with several
sessions focused on educating us<BR><BR>> about the many issues and
inequalities that people of all disabilities<BR><BR>> face. Then, we
will work together in creating a comic book, publicizing<BR><BR>> these
inequalities and issues to the uniformed, general public. A
comic<BR><BR>> book will be the best method of reaching developing
countries, which<BR><BR>> comprise a large portion of the world. As
for developed ones, like<BR><BR>> America, we will use the comic book in
addition to brainstormed ideas-such<BR><BR>> as YouTube videos-to best
reach these populations.<BR><BR>><BR><BR>> While we are learning and
working together to make a difference in the<BR><BR>> world, researchers
will spend time studying us. They want to know the<BR><BR>> ways in
which we feel included and ways we can work together with society<BR><BR>>
to obtain equality. The findings will be published in journals, used
in<BR><BR>> presentations, and sent to the organizations that we advocate
for, thus<BR><BR>> providing another tool to further relay our
message. In learning and<BR><BR>> teaching with Syrian advocates, we
hope to change the face of disabilities<BR><BR>> on a global
level.<BR><BR>><BR><BR>> Best Regards,<BR><BR>> Melissa
Lomax<BR><BR>><BR><BR>><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>njabs-talk
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