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Elizabeth Eagan, Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI), Houston Independent
School District (Houston ISD), Houston, Texas
Jose Marquez, General Studies Major, Texas A & M University, College Station,
Texas
Joe Orozco, Public Administration/Political Science Major, Texas State University,
San Marcos, Texas
Tenchita Urteaga, Piano Performance Major, University of Texas, San Antonio,
Texas
Graduates of Houston ISD, Tenchita (junior), Joe (senior), and Jose (sophomore) are currently attending college. I interviewed them recently via email about their experiences in transitioning from high school to college. They hope to be assistance to other students who will be following in their footsteps.
Tenchita: I think it would have been great to know others who were going to the same school I would be attending. I didn't know anyone! In addition, it would have helped if people had not stressed me out so much senior year, which can be pretty rough. I was stressed with senior recitals, prom, scholarship applications, college applications, and life. Everyone talks about college as if it's the worst and scariest thing to get into. It turns out to not be a big deal!! Just get your act together, be a good student, and it's all good!
Joe: I believe that greater independence would have made the transition much easier. I have found that for freshman, the overriding problem is not so much the workload but the lack of skills in finding resources on campus, not a blindness-related problem, but one that all freshmen appear to encounter in some form or fashion. Allow the blind students to handle their own tasks such as ordering books, meeting with counselors to facilitate class schedules as opposed to leaving this responsibility primarily to ARD meetings, and allowing students to handle the repair of broken equipment as independently as possible (i.e. calling tech support of their own accord) to ensure a smooth transition while in college where there may not be an instructor for the visually impaired (VI) readily available. Remember, disability offices may only be helpful to a point.
Jose: Going to a competitive and challenging high school prepared me in many good ways.
Tenchita: Since I'm not a U. S. citizen, I could not get services from the Texas Commission for the Blind, but I was able to get a certificate of blindness from them. This exempts me from paying tuition and fees outside of my scholarship.
Joe: The agencies play a minor role in that they provide reader funds and other random duties. It's difficult to tell how the transition in agencies will change in the months to come, so it is difficult for me to say how and what they will be doing with incoming college students.
Jose: TCB helped me with orientation and mobility. This agency is also helping me with
some independent living skills. I receive independent living skills assistance from a TCB counselor here in College Station. We have worked on Braille labeling, cooking and ironing skills, for example.
Tenchita: I think a TVI can prepare students by not babying them. I mean, if a teacher is being problematic don't just say, “Oh, Mrs. So and So will talk to him.” The student needs to speak up for himself/herself and let the professors know what his/her needs are. Professors have hundreds of students, so they tend to forget things. In some sense, I'm only an ID number here in college. Students need to keep a record of emails sent professors in case the professor might not remember! I'm not sure how else to expand on this…other than students should be well organized!
Joe: Internet, Internet, Internet. I was always the type to break equipment in order to learn how it worked. Unfortunately, the majority of students will not be as proactive, and in a scenario where Braille is not prevalent, it is important that the student be as adept at knowing his/her technology as best he/she can. The Braille Note seems to be the up and coming preferred piece of tech, and yet, so many students we work with have only basic understanding of how the device functions.
Jose: My TVI prepared me and warned me of college responsibilities. She worked with me to prepare me the best she could.
Tenchita: I chose my school because of my desired major. You want to make sure the university has a good program for your major. In addition, visit the campus, and ask your school counselor about the college or university. Apply for scholarship money. The school I’m attending happens to be close to my home, but I wasn't looking for that as a criteria. That was just a plus for me.
Joe: Online research: Use databases as U.S. News and World Report, and the website www.ApplyTexas.org.
Jose: College Day at my high school, my high school counselor and my TVI helped me find information regarding colleges.
Tenchita: Housing is very important!! Make sure to turn housing in applications along with college applications. Ask about services for the disabled and learn what services are available around the college/university (i.e. TCB). Don’t be afraid to ask questions!
Joe: Locate a program that corresponds to your desired study.
Jose: Find a school of a size that is compatible to you in regards to population, and area-wise. It is also important to find a campus where you will feel that the environment is friendly, honest, and helpful.
Tenchita: Think about yourself: what do you like to do? What are your interests? What are you good at? Can you turn anything from those answers into a career? Talk to your school counselor, your parents, and your teachers and ask their opinions. Start in your junior year by applying for scholarships. Apply to your college/university choices early and pay close attention to all deadlines for applications…if it’s late, it will not be seen.
Joe: Networking. So much of what I know has come from making connections, keeping in touch, following up in communication. If you do not know anyone in your field of interest, ask teachers or other faculty. Someone is bound to know someone.
Jose: High school is a good starting point in thinking about your future. After high school, your life can change dramatically by either staying home to be baby-sat or by pursuing higher education.
Tenchita: Mrs. Paige Suder, my TVI in high school, always told me where the technology and software came from to make sure I knew. She made sure I knew how to contact the companies and knew the specific names of the devices I was using. When I didn’t know, I called or emailed tons of people!
Joe: I believe that I was well prepared. I knew who to stay on top of to get my tech delivered. A big problem, perhaps one of the biggest for freshman, is the fact that tech may not arrive until maybe the third or fourth week into school. For me, it was three months into school, and one should be thoroughly prepared to have some alternative figured out before starting school. The classes may meet fewer times per week, but the workload can easily multiply and can get away from you.
Jose: In high school, I was aware of where my technology came from. The major difference now, in college, is that I am responsible for the care and maintenance of my adaptive technology.
Tenchita: I call my former teachers or friends from high school who use the same technology. Then I scream, pray and calm down, because it is usually OK and often easy to fix! It is also important to know where to buy your technology, the company and the service representative in your area. Keep the phone numbers in a safe place where you can get to them easily including a printed/brailled/large print copy in case you can’t access the numbers on your computer. It’s faster if you are independent rather than waiting for someone to tape your textbook for you or get you the tapes.
Joe: I subscribe to a couple of list-servs designed to address relevant issues. Also, I met and have stayed in contact with a computer consultant that works for TCB and Houston ISD.
Jose: Here in College, I usually call my reader, a friend who is familiar with computer technology, or the Disability Services office.
Tenchita: I'll be honest, I really don't go anywhere outside of campus other than grocery shopping. I usually go with groups of friends or cousins. It's kind of sad, but the girls I hang out with are very dependent on each other and we go everywhere together. I also do errands with the church choir. My parents usually come when I have a concert or when I have to go to the doctor, the endocrinologist for example, because they usually want to know what's up.
Joe: It depends. If I am in San Marcos, my apartment is situated in a location that allows for easy walking to a number of establishments. Otherwise, I solicit friends to do some driving for fair gas reimbursement. If I am in Austin for the weekend, the bus system is so well developed that I can get anywhere.
Jose: Since I go to college in a relatively small town, the bus system here is very ineffective. Transportation on the weekends can be hard to get by and currently my reader and my friends have helped me out in regards to transportation.
Tenchita: I wish there were such things as braille books in college! If I am lucky, I sometimes can get them on tape but most of the time I scan my books. It can be a lot of fun scanning a 25-chapter astronomy book! Be prepared to spend time doing this, so you should know how to scan books before going to college. I do use Recording for the Blind and Disabled (RFB&D), but to date they haven’t had the textbooks I’ve needed. I do recommend you renew your membership with them each year!
Joe: Neither one. I scan my work. RFB&D never has my textbooks; the process takes far too long for me to bother buying two copies of the same book and sending them off. I rely on readers and work on the scanner, so I suppose one would do well to learn a scanning software system in addition to the Internet to be well prepared.
Jose: Most of my textbooks are on tape, and the Disability Services office assists me in ordering them. For the most part, I use regular print underneath the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and my reader.
Tenchita: I'm really involved with my church. I play guitar with my friend Luis at church. We have rehearsals Wednesdays and play at mass on Sundays. I also love to talk online! I'm in the women's music fraternity at school, Sigma Alpha Iota (SAI), a professional, not a social organization. We basically do work for the music department. We also do concerts off campus for nursing homes, Cancer Society, etc. For example, one weekend in the spring there is a piano competition that occurs and we chose to volunteer as ushers. I hang out with my ‘sisters’ Lauren, Lindsay, and Flora! I go to movies with the girls, with my church choir, or with the Phi Mu Alpha guys.
Joe: I am vice president of my university's debate team, served on the senate of the student government and completed a number of community projects on and off campus. Hey! It's all to prepare me for my future career! But really, I enjoy music and hanging out in small crowds.
Jose: I hang out with my friends. We go out to eat. I also attend church. I watch movies at the local theater and in my apartment.
Tenchita: Disability Services on campus paid for an Orientation and Mobility Specialist to come out and orient me to the campus. Disability Services can be your best friend!
Joe: A mobility instructor came out the first two semesters. Now I rely on readers to do some rough orientation. By now I have figured out the campus layout, but one should never feel ashamed to call for help if one needs orientating from point A to point B.
Jose: TCB set me up with an Orientation and Mobility Instructor. After the instructor taught me the major places on campus, I was able to wander about other places around campus and teach myself, sometimes by getting lost and finding my own way.
Tenchita: At my university, Disabilities Services provides readers for tests, braille tests and most of what professors give them. They provide scribes for tests, assistance when needed i.e. reading or writing. They do a lot!!! I personally only go for tests once in a while. I learned about them through a packet of information that one of my college professors mailed to me.
Joe: Never advise the student to seek out a university with excellent disability services. Here at Texas State the services are barely visible. They read exams and attempt to do some recording, but students are by and large left to be independent. This is a good thing, considering future employment relies on your being as capable and independent as possible. I found out about the Disability Services during orientation.When professors find a blind or a disabled student on their rolls they automatically refer the individual to Disability Services.
Jose: Disability Services provide a testing site where I can take my tests and utilize a color CCTV. They provide accommodations for me such as longer test time and allow for provision from professors regarding lecture notes and powerpoint notes. I heard about the Disability Office through my TVI and friends who were already here.
Tenchita: Well, I want to graduate in spring of 2006, keep a good GPA and learn as much music as possible. I do hate some of my core courses, but in order to keep my scholarship, I have to keep a good GPA, which motivates me. After I get my undergraduate degree, I want to get my masters in piano performance, or piano pedagogy. God only knows where or how I’All pay for it, but I’am going to do it! Ten years from now I really want to be teaching piano, or providing piano accompaniment for other musicians, but more importantly, I want to be married with a family. I definitely see myself as involved with church as I am now if not more! I also might like to direct a choir.
Joe: I will graduate from Texas State; unless I transfer to A&M to get closer to their Homeland Security research center, and plan go on to law school. I may work between graduating and law school to save money and get some work experience, real work experience, but law school is a definite. At the moment I am divided between tackling immigration affairs or entertainment law, but regardless, I will write books on the side…big John Grisham fan here.
Jose: One of my short term goals is to survive here at Texas A&M and graduate within a few years. I would like to own my own business, possibly working with my family. I am a general studies major, and my options are quite open right now.
Tenchita: Be open to meeting new people and having to manage your time. Here's a lot of free time, but not really, if you look at your assignments. There is always something to do and really not enough time to get it all done. Sleeping and eating are not as important anymore! You’ll be staying up late to finish assignments or studying for tests. You will learn to eat almost anything they put in front of you as long as it is cooked and free! And watch your money, it goes fast!
If you don’t know something, ask. Don’t be afraid to use email. I am in classes sometimes with 300 students, so I’m just a number. Email helps the professor know where I’m having problems or when I have questions. Some professors prefer assignments to be emailed to them. Be really good friends with Disabilities Services! It is important to know the head of the department of what you are majoring in. The department head can be a great help when you least expect them too. For example, the chair of the music department is the orchestra director, and I've never taken orchestra, but I've gotten to know him and he's a great source to ask for support regarding other teachers who are unsure how to deal with a visually impaired student in their class. He has also helped with scholarships, reference letters, performance opportunities and more.
Joe: Hang in there! Never feel as though you are the only one, because chances are that another student is going through the exact same thing! Blind people have graduated from college, scores of them, and the only thing holding you back is your own hesitation. If you have never left home before, you may feel awkward at first, perhaps downright homesick, but enjoy college while it lasts. I am on the verge of graduating, and it is no fun when it hits you that soon you will be in an actual work environment where late nights and procrastination are not an option. Most importantly, do not feel as though you must prove to the world that you are the most self-sufficient individual out there. Find a good mentor. For me it has always been my former TVI and Braillist. Find someone who will be sympathetic but who is just as likely to kick you in the rear to get you going again. Good luck!
Jose: Try to understand that college is a whole new ball game. I would also encourage incoming freshmen to stick with it, even if it is difficult at first. The first year is often the toughest, as you acclimate to college life. It is much smoother sailing after the first year. Also, it would be helpful if your independent living skills were developed before coming to college. No longer will you have your mother to cook you breakfast and do your laundry. Being away from your family and close friends may be one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to do. You don’t realize how attached you are to them or how much you depended on them until you leave home.
Transition is such a simple word, but such a complex process. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines transition as the passage from one state, stage, subject, or place to another. Students with visual impairments or any disability must first be prepared to make this transition while still in high school. In listening to my coauthors, I learned that as teachers and parents, it is our duty to teach them independence, self-help skills, technology use, how to solicit aid, and most importantly, allow them to spread their wings and fly.
In preparing for college, students and parents need to start early, take their time, research and visit the colleges, but most importantly master the technology needed so they can be as independent as their peers. If we want our students to succeed, we must be sure they have the tools they will need so they can. As teachers and parents, we must instruct and provide support mechanisms so the student will know what to do in a crisis or any situation. We must also know when to step back and let them learn to do things on their own. As Joe so eloquently wrote, “future employment relies on your being as capable and independent as possible.” Listen to these voices, as they are the voices of experience.
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