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

Elizabeth Mohnke lizmohnke at hotmail.com
Thu Apr 2 16:21:18 UTC 2015


Hello Christine and all,

Jordyn and J.J. did a really great job putting this seminar together. All of
the speakers were great, and I think I learned at least one new thing from
every speaker who spoke during the seminar. I also had a fun time hanging
out with people and playing games after the speaker sessions were done for
the day. I think there was a good mix of informative speakers and fun
activities for this event.

I believe other people got something out of this seminar too. On my way to
breakfast on Sunday morning, I heard one of the young high school students
say that something was a learning experience for him. I did not catch what
he was talking about, but I would imagine it had something to do with the
weekend. I also saw another high school student become more outspoken and
assertive as the seminar progressed throughout the weekend. I have never
seen either one of these high school students attend an NFB sponsored event
before. 

Sometimes people learn things simply by being around other blind people
without anyone ever realizing it. This was something I learned when I
participated in the last bridge walk. There were a couple of older high
school students, or recent high school graduates, who were pretty much doing
their own thing during the weekend. However, when we were alone in the car
waiting for our driver who was willing to give us a ride home, one of these
students asked me a couple of questions about my blindness as we were
waiting for our driver. I honestly had no idea how much they may have been
paying attention to me that weekend.

I share this story with you to say that I am sure that everyone who attended
the seminar this past weekend most likely gained something from it. As the
moderator of the seminar, Jordyn did a great job providing a safe inclusive
environment where it was okay to ask questions, to be blind, and to learn
from each other. I hope the state affiliate can have more events like this
one in the future.

Warm regards,
Elizabeth
 









-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Christine Boone via nfbmi-talk
Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2015 11:17 AM
To: J.J. Meddaugh; NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Discovering Opportunities for Employment and
Success Seminar

JJ, Jordyn, Terri, Jeff, Fred and All:  I want to commend all of you guys
for taking the initiative to hold this empowering seminar. From the dream,
through the logistics to the enactment, you guys were focused, determined
and totally committed to making this seminar a success.      

If you positively impacted the life of even 1 blind student I believe you
could count the weekend as well worth your collective efforts.  And I am
confident that the lives of many young blind students were enriched last
weekend.  

Next year will be even better. I hope to be there with you in 2016.  Kudo's
to you all!

Warm Regards,
 Christine
I
  .  
Boone Christine Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 1, 2015, at 11:16 PM, J.J. Meddaugh via nfbmi-talk
<nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

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.


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