[Oabs] Jamaica study abroad.

[Elif Emir]

congrads and good luck

2014-10-25 16:09 GMT-04:00, Kaiti Shelton via Oabs <oabs at nfbnet.org>:
> Hi all,
>
> Some of you have asked me to keep you informed of my application to a
> study abroad/service music therapy program in Jamaica.  I just had a
> follow up interview with the director, and have been accepted to the
> trip I was hoping to get.  I will spend ten days in June providing
> Music Enrichment to children with disabilities in schools, patients in
> an infirmary, and residents of a homeless shelter.  I'll also get to
> learn a lot of the traditional Afro-Cuban and West Indies drumming
> techniques, live in a treehouse, and get to explore the island.  I'm
> very excited!
>
> The follow up interview was interesting.  My professor gave me a
> glowing recommendation, however noted that she has not seen my
> mobility in unfamiliar places.  This is fair, as she has only seen me
> in familiar settings.  The director wanted to see how comfortable I
> would be with navigating rocky terrain, getting from point A to B by
> myself, etc.  Apparently a blind student from another university
> applied last year, but their professor indicated that mobility would
> be an issue so the student was not accepted to the program.  I'm glad
> that I've had the training in orientation and mobility, as well as
> independence skills that will allow me to participate in this
> experience.  When I mentioned that I was a counselor at an Orientation
> and Mobility camp this past summer, that also helped to set the
> director at ease.
>
> I'm so thankful that I've tried to be as independent as possible, and
> that I have the opportunity to do this.  In addition to being a great
> experience for my future music therapy career, it will also be an
> exercise in helping me to become even more independent in a setting
> that is very different from the ones I usually travel in.  Music
> therapists have to advocate for the profession all the time.  This
> will not only help me become a better advocate for music therapy, but
> also advocate for blind and otherwise disabled music therapy
> practicioners by demonstrating that with some simple modification, we
> can perform tasks just as successfully.
>
> --
> Kaiti Shelton
> University of Dayton 2016.
> Music Therapy, Psychology, Philosophy
> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students
> Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma
>
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