[Nfb-science] cheryl r. brown(NFB) career in STEM?

[Jamie Principato]

Hi there,

I am currently an undergraduate in Cognitive Psychology, working towards an
eventual Ph.D. and research career. I don't have a true focus yet, but at
present I am working as a research assistant in the Florida Center for
Reading Research, using eye tracking technology to study how visual
information, such as printed text, photographs, signs, and even a person's
surroundings, are accessed by the eyes and processed by the brain. I use
JAWS for Windows as well as ZoomText, and my directing professor has never
had a problem with providing materials in electronic formats for me, as he
prefers electronic to paper himself. We do a lot of research at elementary
schools, and other students and professors in the lab are always happy to
car-pool since there are a number of people in the lab who do not have cars,
so this helps with transportation.

Really, I've just been playing things by ear since day one, figuring out how
to approach problems as they come up, or may come up. My most recent
challenge was taking a Biological Science lab course and managing to take
readings and conduct experiments without spending thousands on software and
equipment that would interface with my computer. i got the disability center
at my university to provide me with a lab assistant of my own to help with
taking measurements and reading off data. We'll see how this works out.

Don't let yourself be limited in what career you choose by the amount of
vision you have. That isn't how it works. Choose what you want to do, what
you're interested in, what you're passionate about first. Then, as you find
legitimate obstacles relating to vision (and you might not), start dealing
with them one at a time with your initial goal still in mind.

-Jamie

On Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 4:34 PM, Christine Szostak <szostak.1 at osu.edu>wrote:

> Hi,
>  I am a doctoral student in Cognitive Psychology with a focus in
> psycholinguistics which explores how  language is processed by the brain.
>
>  I use JAWS for windows and my university provides it for me through our
> disability services office.
>
>  I think with a little innovation there is no need for the visually
> impaired and totally blind to be limited in what fields of  STEM they would
> like to enter. given that there is both a science and math list for those
> with vision loss provides additional support for this viewpoint.
>
>  My recommendation, if you are trying to figure out whether to enter an
> area of STEM, would be to base your decision on what you are most interested
> in rather than what is open to those with vision loss. Basing your decision
> on your interests will allow you to succeed much more readily than will the
> alternative since likely you will be more inclined to enjoy the work you are
> doing.
> many thanks,
> Christine
>
>
> Christine M. Szostak
> Graduate Student
> Language Perception Laboratory
> Department of Psychology, Cognitive Area
> The Ohio State University
> Columbus, Ohio
> szostak.1 at osu.edu
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cheryl Brown" <cheryl9rb at gmail.com>
> To: "NFB Science and Engineering Division List" <nfb-science at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2010 2:48 PM
> Subject: [Nfb-science] cheryl r. brown(NFB) career in STEM?
>
>
>  Hello, I want to know what kind of work you do in STEM?  What adaptive
>> technology you use at work? Are you getting support from you employer? Are
>> there opportunity for blind person in this field.
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