[NFBMI-Talk] Amended: The MIABS Mosaic Vol. 6.4- June 30TH, 2026

Wed Jul 1 02:38:38 UTC 2026

The MIABS Mosaic Vol. 6.4
June 30TH, 2026

Message from treasurer Danielle Agajan
Good Evening fellow MIABS members! I hope you all are keeping cool in this crazy heat wave we are going through. It has been another exciting, productive and extremely active month for the student division. There is so much to go over, so let's not waste a second and jump right into it! Grab yourself an ice cold beverage of your choice, crank up your fans or air conditioning and let's get to it.

The Student Advocacy Toolkit is Complete!
President Crouch and the Advocacy Committee have been hard at work, and the results are here. Last month, we gave a brief sneak peek into the development of our new Student Toolkit. Today, we are immensely proud to announce that this invaluable resource—designed to guide current college students and support those preparing to step onto a campus for the first time—is officially finished!

Before we begin utilizing this comprehensive guide for external outreach, we want to share it exclusively with our Advocacy committee and MIABS members. Make sure to mark your calendars and join us on July 17th at 6:30 PM for the official, full unveiling of the Toolkit.

We also want your lived experiences to be a cornerstone of this project. Please keep an eye out for an announcement regarding a special upcoming meeting. We will be coming together to discuss times you have had to advocate for yourselves as blind students, with the goal of adding your powerful stories as a dedicated testimonial section within the Toolkit.

Week Two: Tech, Communications, and Jackbox Fun!
Moving into the second week of the month, Secretary Steven Crouch led the charge on all things tech and communication. On the technology front, board members Shaun Williams and Bruce McClellan kicked off a highly anticipated "Tech Talk" series. They are diving deep into the ins and outs of screen reading software—including TalkBack, NVDA, and JAWS—alongside sharing essential tips and tricks for navigating Zoom rooms. Meanwhile, our communications team, spearheaded by Secretary Crouch and board member Malaki Riley, has been hitting our social media accounts hard. Their dedication ensures that all of our vital information and messages are reaching the masses.

Taking a break from business for some interactive entertainment, Unseen Media Live hosted a fantastic night of Jackbox games! We want to send a special thank you to Maryann Murad, Roman McCary, Makenna Charvat, and Shaniece Milledge for joining us. It was a hilarious and incredibly successful night of gaming, and we can confidently say it won't be the last time we do this!

Week Three: Membership and the Upcoming State Convention
Rounding the corner into week three, Vice President Kashonia Graham took the floor to discuss all things membership. She emphasized the importance of staying active and involved, reminding us that our collective participation is exactly what empowers us to make our division the absolute best it can be.

Kashonia also highlighted a major milestone on the horizon: our upcoming State Convention! Scheduled to take place in Grand Rapids from November 5th – 8th, this convention is shaping up to be an incredible weekend packed with advocacy, education, and plenty of fun. Mark your calendars now, because this is definitely an event you will not want to miss!

Week Four: All Things Fundraising, Events, and So Much More!
Week four came in hot with me, your MIABS Treasurer! Today is the absolute last day of our Liberty Coffee fundraiser, so make sure to get those final orders in. If you missed out, don't worry, because you can keep a look out for our next big initiative, Snacking USA. They have absolutely everything snack-related, ranging from gummies and nuts to trail mixes and so much more. With every single item priced at just $10 plus a $0.75 processing fee, it is an incredible deal with something for everyone. I hope everyone brings their appetites, because with a 50% profit on each item, all those dollars and cents quickly add up to help fund crucial things for our chapter, such as sending our members to the State Convention, saving up for next year's National Convention, and supporting all of our incredible online and in-person events.

We also wrapped up a fantastic virtual event in June in the form of our MIABS Main Stage talent show. This was an absolutely amazing event where our contestants truly brought their A-games, and in my humble opinion, everyone was a winner. It takes a lot of grit to step up on any platform and put your talents on display for an audience, let alone a panel of judges. A special shout-out goes to everyone who stepped into the spotlight and let their talents shine: Ciara Williams, Callie Bowman-Tomlinson, Malaki Reilly, Makenna Charvat, Steven Crouch, and Tyler Zahnke. You all deserve a huge round of applause for bringing so much energy and heart to this event. Ultimately, our judges had to make some tough choices, and the official winners are Makenna Charvat in first place, Ciara Williams in second place, and Malaki Reilly in third place. A massive MIABS thank you also goes out to our incredible guest judges, Sanho Steele-Louchart, Damontae Scott, and Faye Chanel Johnson. We truly appreciate you taking time out of your day to be a part of our event, as you did an amazing job and made the day extra special. Looking ahead, July's online event is already in the works, and our Event Committee is working hard to make it even bigger and better than the last. We are all very excited to unveil it to both our MIABS members and the broader NFB family, so keep your ears open for updates coming your way later this month

Looking Ahead
So that's it, my friends—another month in the books! We promised not to slow down, and so far, we have been true to our word. Let's keep this train chugging down the tracks and look toward what's coming next.

As you all know, the National Convention is set to kick off this upcoming weekend in Texas. Because of this, the division is going to take a much-needed break to allow everyone attending to put their focus where it needs to be. President Crouch and I will also be attending the convention virtually, so we hope to bring back some of the inside scoop and possible interviews after the convention is over for all those who were unable to attend.

We will resume our crazy schedule kicking off with our monthly business meeting on July 11th from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM on the affiliate Zoom line. Stay tuned for the first episode of July's Mosaic on July 5th, where President Crouch will include a calendar of events, as always, so you don't miss a thing.

Until then my MIABS Family, stay cool, keep it classy, and Let's go Build the Federation!

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The National Federation of the Blind advances the lives of its members and all blind people in the United States. We know that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. Our collective power, determination, and diversity achieve the aspirations of all blind people.

Sincerely,
Danielle Agajan
Treasurer: Michigan Association of Blind Students
Fundraising Chair: Michigan Association of Blind Students