[nfbmi-talk] Discovering Opportunities for Employment and Success Seminar

[J.J. Meddaugh]

Thank you Larry for your support of the DOES Seminar. We had roughly 25 
in attendance throughout the weekend, many of which were attending an 
NFB event for the first time. Seeing the empowerment in students, 
whether it was learning skills necessary to get hired, or simply going 
from the meeting room to the restrooms without sighted guide for the 
first time, provided a first-hand reminder of why we need to continue 
doing events like this.

Students learned what to put and not put on a resume, how to present 
themselves at a business lunch, and strategies for approaching tough 
interview questions. We also had some great discussions surrounding 
tough questions such as when to disclose your disability and how or when 
to request accomodations. Fred presented an excellent talk on nonverbal 
communication that was well-researched.

In addition, we heard Terri Wilcox's story of how she got involved in 
the NFB, got some tips on useful iPhone apps from Jeff, discussed the 
importance of NFB training centers, and talked about state and national 
scholarships.

Participants were given a thumb drive with handouts from the presenters 
as well as NFB information, literature, and audio. Several of the 
participants were quite interested in both follow-up seminars on 
additional topics and attending state or national convention.

Logistically, the event ran under budget. In addition, we have the 
contact information for all participants so we can keep people 
up-to-date with future events. We'll also endeavor to connect people to 
local chapters.

Naturally, there will be areas where we can improve, and a feedback 
survey will be sent to the participants in the coming days. One of the 
challenges we recognized is that high school and college students are 
often at a different place when it comes to looking for jobs, whether 
it's a first job or a long-term career.

I need to give a ton of credit to Jordyn who put together the agenda for 
the weekend, which was packed and included a lot of useful information. 
Thanks also to Candice Chapman, who joined us representing the National 
association of Blind Students.

Thanks again, and I hope this event can serve as a foundation for the 
future.





Best regards,
J.J.

On 3/29/2015 6:22 PM, Larry Posont wrote:
> National Federation of the Blind of Michigan
> 7189 Connors Rd.
> Munising, MI 49862
>
> March 29, 2015
>
> Dear Jordyn and J.J.:
>
>       Thank you very much for the excellent job you did coordinating
> the Discovering Opportunities for Employment and Success Seminar this
> past week end. It was very successful. All of the speakers did a fine
> job. The Federation should do more of this since it gets students
> interested and involved. Students are Federation members now and
> potential leaders in the future. Once again, thank you for a job well
> done.
>
> Sincerely,
> Larry Posont
> President
>   National Federation of the Blind of Michigan
>   (906) 387-3546
> Email: president.nfb.mi at gmail.com
>   Web page: www.nfbmi.org
>
> Munising home of the beautiful Pictured Rocks.